Training Program Boosts Rural Community Development Through Cooperatives in Laos

The initiative is designed to empower rural communities through cooperative development in sectors such as coffee farming, rice liquor production, and beekeeping.

Farmer groups in Laos are discovering the transformative potential of cooperatives thanks to a comprehensive training program led by the International Labour Organization (ILO), COOP Okinawa, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The initiative is designed to empower rural communities through cooperative development in sectors such as coffee farming, rice liquor production, and beekeeping.

Participants from Attapeu province, including farmers, TVET school students and teachers, and government officials, have engaged in the ILO’s Our.COOP training program. This program, tailored to foster participatory group thinking and peer learning, equips participants with the skills needed to establish and manage cooperatives. The training encompasses three modules: Think.COOP, Start.COOP, and Manage.COOP. In Attapeu, the focus was on the Think.COOP and Start.COOP modules to address specific community needs.

The training has seen approximately 20 provincial government officials, including the deputy head of Attapeu province, learning advanced cooperative initiation techniques through the Start.COOP module. Members of the rice liquor cooperative and a beekeeping group used this module to enhance their marketing strategies and broaden their customer base.

In Sanxay District, district government officials and coffee farmers used the Think.COOP module to learn about cooperative basics and are planning to establish a cooperative to install a coffee blending machine and open a coffee shop. Additionally, 50 students and teachers from a local TVET school received Start.COOP training, with plans to integrate cooperative theory into their curriculum next year.

Teacher Mihsenxai Suradtadaa from the TVET school in Attapeu province expressed optimism about the future, noting, “In the future, I believe that beekeeping can be a source of income for people in the community and can be operated as a cooperative.”

The training reflects Laos' commitment to cooperative development, further supported by the new Cooperative Law passed by the National Assembly in June 2024. This law aims to enhance the organization and collaboration of workers in rural areas.

Osamu Ishihara, project chief at COOP Okinawa, emphasized the significance of the legislative changes, stating, “The new law will be an opportunity for further advancement and progress. Cooperative establishment and human capital development are crucial for Laos’s development.”

The training activities were funded by the Government of Japan through the ILO/Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia and the Pacific, part of the ILO’s project aimed at supporting youth and vulnerable populations in the region. In Laos, this project strengthens cooperative development as a means of empowering rural communities.