Focusing on progress in Nicaragua

The PRODECOOP cooperative organization brings together 38 villages from Esteli, Madriz and Nueva Segovia in northern Nicaragua to collaborate on agricultural extension services, training, marketing, credit, coffee quality programs, and social development projects. Thirty percent of the farmers are women, and through their collective training programs grow to become leaders in their co-op and communities. With a permanent commission on gender, they are learning to frame tough conversations about equity to include everyone in the family, and encouraging members to focus on progress and integration.