The following research initiatives have been undertaken in the Asia-Pacific region within the partnership between the European Commission and ICA, to strengthen the co-operative movement and its capacity to promote international development.

Mapping

The mapping research seeks to collect exhaustive, consistent and reliable data on the co-operative situation in every region and across sectors, applying a common methodology and displaying the results by country in a dynamic online database. The objective is to provide an accurate picture of the movement to both cooperators and external stakeholders, and use this to reinforce co-operatives’ policy, capacity building, visibility and networking activities. To achieve this, the regional office had recently started this exercise on a pilot basis with ICA members in Iran and the Philippines to fill in an online questionnaire, in order to collect data on their organisation and their members. The final results are now under process and expected to be released on the coops4dev website in December 2018.

Legal Framework Analysis

This research aims to provide co-operative organisations with concrete tools for their advocacy. The objectives are threefold:  acquire general knowledge of the national legislation on co-operatives as well as of supranational cooperation legislation if existent; evaluate the national jurisdictions covered based on a scale of their “co-operative friendliness”; and provide recommendations for eventual renewal of the legal frameworks in place. This process is piloted by the regional office for the countries Kyrgyzstan and Vanuatu, using commonly agreed methodological tools. The national reports are now under review and expected to be released in December 2018.

Global Thematic Research on Youth

The main goal of this research is to highlight how co-operatives can benefit the youth, and seek ways to enhance the inclusion, opportunities and empowerment offered by co-operatives to young people – especially by conveying suggestions stemming from the youth themselves. The regional office has completed the design and approval of qualitative instruments (surveys, interviews) at centralised level. The next step is application of these qualitative instruments to the targeted populations at decentralised level in India, Iran, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea. The submissions from the respondents in Iran are currently being processed.

Regional Thematic Research on Work and Ownership

A thematic research on exploring Work and Ownership structures in co-operatives in the Asia-Pacific has been initiated to draw up the status of industrial and service co-operatives (ISC), and in the process map work-based co-operatives and ISCs in the region. This research will also highlight the legal environment these co-operatives operate in, as well as describe the various forms of prevailing co-operative ownership structures. The publication will be carried in a collaborative manner with contributions sought in the form of country/area specific reports authored by interested institutions and individuals. Partners from 11 countries in the region confirmed their participation and expressed their willingness to join the project. Among them, target types with brief information from 7 countries have been identified by partners and the research coordinators. The next stage of the research is to carry out a context analysis and survey on organisational models.

If you have any questions/concerns about any research component, Mr. Mohit Dave (mohit.dave@icaap.coop) in the regional office would be happy to provide you further information.

Reaping the rewards of the Asia Pacific Co-operative Youth Summit 2.0: Reflections from a young participant (Submitted by Ms. Yohana Tamara Y.; nickname Ara)

The Keling Kumang Group (KKG) is a holding co-operative in West Borneo, Indonesia. It originally started as a Credit Union, but now has multiplied into a number of single-purpose co-operatives to help the poor in West Kalimantan meet their livelihood needs.  On the invitation of ICA-AP, KKG sent me as a young representative to attend the Asia Pacific Co-operative Youth Summit 2.0. in Cebu, The Philippines, from 17 to 21 August 2018. LAMAC Multi Purposes Co-operative was the host for this international youth event. The conference was attended by around 140 youth from 16 countries from all over the world. It was truly a great event where the participants were taught many subjects both in a classroom setting as well as in the field. At the same time, youth participants were exposed to a host of rich cultures, especially the local culture in Cebu.

All the activities were inspiring. However, for me, there was one particular subject that caught my attention. It was “CA-CAO”.

I was one of the delegates who arrived late at the Hidden Valley Resort due to heavy traffic on the way to the venue.  It was already 8 p.m. and I had not had any meal since early afternoon. After putting my luggage in my room, I went straight to the restaurant guided by a helpful staff of the organizing committee. I was welcomed by Ms. Raquel Choa, the Chocolate Queen from the Philippines; and Edu, Chairperson of the Philippine Cacao Industry Council from Region 7 and Executive of Ralfe Gourmet Casa de Cacao.  Raquel served me and other delegates delicious food while sharing the knowledge about cacao - Indonesia is the third largest cacao producer in the world. Later during the Summit, participants were taught cacao grafting, which would produce cacao fruits that could be harvested within 16 to 18 months.

The knowledge that I gained during the Summit provided me with some excellent stories to be shared with co-operators back home in West Borneo, Indonesia. Based on the documentation and experiences gained during the Summit, I shared the results with KKG. Since KKG has been actively involved in farm-based activities, they were interested in inviting Raquel and the Chocolate Chamber team to Indonesia to share their knowledge. KKG believes that cacao could become a major commodity as a primary source of income for farmers who are members of the Keling Kumang Credit Union (KKCU). Up until now member-farmers of the KKCU are primarily engaged in rubber and palm oil production.  However, the price of rubber and palm oil has been falling and has had a big impact on the income of members. By exploring a new commodity such as cacao, KKG felt that it could be a good solution for the members of the credit union to get another source of income to uplift their meagre livelihood.

Raquel and Team spent three full days in West Kalimantan. On the first day they visited a few cultural destinations in Sintang. The second day was a full-day workshop on cacao production, and the third day was a visit to a cacao plantation owned by a local cacao farmer. 

Representative image of Ms. Raquel Choa. Image credit: One awesome planet.

Members of Keling Kumang were very enthusiastic when they heard the news about the cacao workshop.  The quota for the cacao workshop was for only 50 participants, but due to high demand, KKG had to accommodate up to 80 participants. The Chairman of KKG, Mikael, and Acting Director/Manager, Hilarius Gimawan, and CEO of the KKCU, Valentinus, also took part in the workshop. The Chocolate Chamber team shared their vast knowledge of cacao starting from how one has to choose the best quality of seedlings, all the way to how good quality cacao products could be sold with decent profit margins. The cacao workshop had truly encouraged and motivated the farmers to start planting cacao instead of rubber and palm oil. The Chocolate Chamber team and KKG have created a joint business strategy and action plan to help the members in the long term. As a representative to the youth summit, as well as the KKG, I wish to extend our hearty thanks to Mr. Balu Iyer and Mr. Robby Tulus who encouraged me to participate at the Asia Pacific Co-operative Youth Summit.

In addition to the rich technical cooperation on cacao as a result of the Youth Summit, the Summit itself has become a fruitful platform for myself to gain new knowledge and connect with my peers as young cooperators, as well as many co-operative leaders and activists. The cacao workshop in West Kalimantan is a real evidence as to how youth can actually implement the knowledge gained from attending international events, and implementing it in real situations among the grassroots communities.