COOPSOL

During the last two months, the Argentinean research team conducted the fieldwork in Santiago del Estero to study the cooperative COOPSOL. The firm was established in 1992 and is now made up by 14 members. COOPSOL is mainly dedicated to honey production, which it exports both to national and international markets.

The fieldwork consisted of more than 10 interviews with actors involved in the initiative, and culminated with the accomplishment of two focus groups. The first one was organized for beekeepers, both organic and conventional, belonging to COOPSOL and with members of other honey firms in the region.

While in the second one, several leaders of various beekeeping organizations and governmental departments participated in order to exchange opinions and ideas of the pathways the sector is following.

 
In sum, the fieldwork has allowed the team to know in detail the capabilities developed in the firm, its innovative ways of acting in the region and the challenges that lie ahead, issues that will be developed in a forthcoming report on the case studies in Argentina that will provide details on sustainable development alternatives based on natural resources.