Case Studies

View U.S. Only :: View International Only

Ajddigue Women's Argan Cooperative Village of Tidzi, Morocco Zoubida Charrouf founded the Ajddigue cooperative in 1997 to mechanize argan oil production and thereby widen the market for the oil, generate new work opportunities to local women, and provide new protections to the argan groves. Originally considered a marginal business, the cooperative today has 60 Moroccan woman members and continues to grow. Read more
Akiwenzie's Fish Cape Croker, Canada “You can only sell bad fish to a person once,” says Andrew Akiwenzie, “but your ability to sell good fish to people is unlimited.” That, in a nutshell, is the business strategy of Akiwenzie’s Fish, a sole proprietorship he runs with his wife Natasha. The enterprise is dedicated to catching, smoking, and distributing high-quality fish like perch, trout, and whitefish caught right outside their home in Cape Croker. Read more
Anna Marie Seafood Dulac, Louisiana “You need technology to create quality,” says Lance Nacio, a 38-year-old Cajun and wild shrimp fisherman from Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana. Darlene Wolnick, who works for an organization called marketumbrella.org that helps food producers like Lance do direct marketing in the region, agrees, “Lance is the most innovative shrimper we’re working with.” Read more
Appalachian Harvest Network Abingdon, Virginia “How can we create a system that puts money in farmers’ pockets and puts good food on the table in an environmentally sustainable way?” asks Anthony Flaccavento, the executive director of Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD). His answer, for dozens of farmers in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee, has been a program called the Appalachian Harvest Network (AHN). Read more
Cabbages & Condoms Bangkok, Thailand Even open-minded westerners are taken aback when they walk into the original Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant (C&C) in Bangkok. Posters on the walls display prophylactics from around the world. Neat rows of multicolored condoms appear under the glass tops of dining tables. Condoms decorate lamps and flower vases in rest rooms. Bowls of “condom-mints” are presented as party favors. A sign assures customers that “our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy.” Read more
Cargills (Ceylon) PLC Colombo, Sri Lanka “This is not a corporate social responsibility program,” says Ranjit Page, CEO of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest businesses, “CSR is our business.” For its first 140 years, Cargills imported not only food but clothing, pharmaceuticals, and alcohol, largely to serve expatriates and the country’s urban elite. Today the company focuses on growing raw farm products and selling them within Sri Lanka. Read more
Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools LaFarge, Wisconsin “This is a social experiment disguised as a business,” says George Siemon, chief executive officer of the Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools (CROPP). Today, after 20 years of this “social experiment,” CROPP has over $500 million in annual revenue, 1,300 member/owner farmers, and 500 staff. It is arguably one of the biggest and most successful organic producer cooperatives in the country. Read more
Fundacion Paraguaya's Financially Self-Sufficient Organic Farm School Cerrito, Paraguay “We change peasants into rural entrepreneurs,” says Martin Burt, executive director of Fundación Paraguaya, a nonprofit foundation that since 1985 has been providing micro-lending and sustainable training to Paraguay’s farmers and other agricultural workers, as well as to women and young people. Fundación Paraguaya’s Escuela Agrícola Orgánica Financieramente Autosufficiente (Financially Self-Sufficient Organic Farm School, or “Farm School” for short) offers a solid high school education focusing on strong agricultural practices, business skills, and entrepreneurship. Read more
Greenmarket New York, New York “Our mission is twofold: keep small farms viable and provide good food to all New York City communities regardless of income level,” says Michael Hurwitz, director of greenmarket, a thriving network of 49 farmers markets in the city. Greenmarket began with 12 farmers in an empty lot in the heart of Midtown Manhattan in 1976, and has since grown into the nation’s largest open air farmers market program, with markets in all five boroughs. It supports small farmers who grow near New York City by showcasing their locally grown products and providing them with new opportunities for direct retail sales. Read more
Indian Springs Farmers Association Petal, Mississippi Even though he has led the Indian Springs Farmers Association in Mississippi for almost a generation, Ben Burkett views himself first and foremost as a farmer. On the 255-acre farm that has been in his family for more than a century, he grows 16 types of vegetables and herbs and manages pine timber. “I really enjoy what I do, although I haven’t got rich at it. I started off in conventional cotton, transferred into corn, soybeans, and wheat. While we always had a vegetable contract when I was growing up, I only transitioned over to vegetables in my own farm a little more than ten years ago.” But Ben’s most important crop is farmer empowerment. Read more
The Intervale Center Burlington, Vermont “Why not grow Vermont’s fresh food in Vermont, and do it sustainably?” That was the question preoccupying Will Raap in the 1980s when he had a small garden shop and catalogue, a compost pile, and a parcel of neglected land in Burlington. Back then, the “Intervale” referred to 350 acres that were historically important but had fallen into disuse. Based on consumer research, Will saw in the land the potential to grow at least 10% of Burlington’s fresh food at the Intervale.... Read more
Kasinthula Cane Growers Limited Kasinthula, Malawi “Very shaky.” That’s how Brian Namata describes the financial situation now facing Kasinthula Cane Growers, Limited (KCGL), a producer-owned limited liability company where he serves as general manager. Yet KCGL also contains elements of a business model that, with a little tweaking and luck, could yet prove very successful. Growing commodity sugarcane is always hard work, but it’s especially true in Kasinthula in southern Malawi, one of the poorest regions of one of Africa’s poorest countries. Read more
Kuapa Kokoo Kumasi, Ghana “The vision of our cooperative is to become a leading, caring, efficient farmer-based organization and the most globally recognized cooperative in cocoa production and marketing.” That’s how Paul “PCK” Buah, president of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, describes his community food enterprise’s mission in a 2007 annual report. As Ghana’s largest farmer cooperative, representing 45,000 cocoa growers, Kuapa Kokoo aims to be a “formidable Farmer-Based Organization” that can “mobilize and motivate its stakeholders to produce and market quality cocoa and cocoa products, improve members' livelihood, and satisfy consumers.” Read more
Lorentz Meats Cannon Falls, Minnesota Don’t waste time asking Mike Lorentz for advice on how to sell meat at a farmers market. “You won’t make enough money to justify being there. It’s great for a hobby, you might even break even. But you won’t turn a profit.” And, he adds with emphasis, “if isn’t profitable, it isn’t sustainable.” For Mike, size matters, even for local food. He sees several “sweet spot” business opportunities for small- and mid-scale meat processors. At the heart of Mike’s company is a 10,000 square foot processing plant, built from scratch in 2000. It is fully certified by the USDA to process by hand not only cattle but multiple species like bison, pigs, and elk. Read more
The Mavrovic Companies Slobostina, Croatia In 1998, when Zeljko Mavrovic entered the ring with Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title in the National World Boxing Championship, one American reporter described him as a “mohawked mystery man with a macrobiotic diet and his own private mantra.” Even though he lost, the reporter conceded admiringly, “Mavrovic himself, far from playing the part of a walkover that had been scripted for him, proved awkward and frustrating, occasionally aggressive, and much better at handling a punch than the U.S. fight mob might have guessed.” Zeljko became a hero in his native Croatia. Many hoped for him to make a comeback, but no one expected it to be in local food. Read more
The National Onion Growers' Cooperative Marketing Association (NOGROCOMA) Bongabon, Philippines “To sustain the Philippines’ self-sufficiency in onions.” That’s the mission of the National Onion Growers’ Cooperative Marketing Association, or NOGROCOMA, according to Dulce Gozon, the organization’s current chair and CEO. Founded in 1954, NOGROCOMA is a 206-grower cooperative based in Bongabon, a town of 70,000 people and 28 barangays (small villages) in the province of Nueva Ecija, 100 miles north of Manila. Read more
The Oklahoma Food Cooperative Oklahoma City, Oklahoma “We’ve finally found one thing that fundamentalist Baptists can come together with Pagans to agree about,” says Bob Waldrop, founder and president of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, “and that’s local food. This coming together was a miracle.” When delivery day for the Cooperative arrives, Bob explains excitedly, “It’s quite an experience. Thousands of products come in the door, starting about 9:00 a.m., from sixty or so different producers. ... Read more
Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative Limited Thaligun, Kavresthali VDC, Ward No. 8, Nepal “The commitment is impressive,” says Bhimendra Katwal, an agricultural development expert in Nepal, as he tries to explain the success of the Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative. “They don’t want to go back to using pesticides. They want to continue, so others can see and follow.” Over the past decade, the residents of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, have been consuming more vegetables and grains, so most farmers in the region decided to increase yields by intensifying their use of fertili Read more
Sunstar Overseas Limited New Delhi, India “We had the right product from the right area with the right people.” That’s how Ajay Katwal sums up Sunstar Overseas Limited’s strategy for successfully marketing basmati rice worldwide. Ajay is the firm’s international marketing president. In Sanskrit, the word basmati means “the fragrant one.” Once known as the food of emperors, this long-grain rice is famous for its aroma and flavor, along with two distinct preparation characteristics: Read more
Swanton Berry Farm Davenport, California Jim Cochran is used to having his ideas brushed aside. Two decades ago, when he set out to grow strawberries organically without the pesticide methyl bromide, many of Jim’s peers in the strawberry industry thought he was nuts. He persisted and wound up developing one of the first organic, chemical- free approaches to growing strawberries on a commercial scale. When he began negotiations with the United Farm Workers to represent his workers, other strawberry farmers warned him this would kill his business. And yet, today, after becoming the first organic farm in the country to become 100% unionized and to offer family medical and dental coverage,... Read more
Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited Lusaka, Zambia “In other countries, almost everywhere you go, people promote their local foods,” complains Sylvia Banda, “but not so much in Zambia.” Her business, Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited, aims to fill this niche for visitors and locals alike. Besides catering, she also founded three profitable subsidiaries that specialize in Zambian cuisine: Sylva Professional Catering College; Sylva Foods Guest House, a restaurant and soon a hotel; and Sylva Food Solutions, a food processing business for domestic and export markets that also provides training to farmers and has recently ventured into manufacturing low-tech food processing equipment. Read more
Weaver Street Market Hillsborough, North Carolina When Ruffin Slater and his two friends, Marilyn Butler and Randy Tally, opened up Weaver Street Market in 1988, natural food co-ops meant big crates of dry grains. “We wanted something more than that,” says Ruffin, “something we could get the community involved in.” Today Weaver Street is a large, diversified community enterprise that lives its motto: “A co-op is a better economic system.”... Read more
The White Dog Cafe Philadelphia, Pennsylvania For 25 years Judy Wicks’ wake-up ritual was to go to her bedroom mirror and chant a four-word mantra: “Good morning beautiful business!” Her commute to the business, the White Dog Café, was about 60 seconds, as she wound her way down the stairs of her three-story brownstone, through the offices of the nonprofit White Dog Community Enterprises, past her retail shop called the Black Cat, selling locally made and fair trade gifts, and finally entered the restaurant. Besides being a popular eatery and bar featuring local food, organic produce, and humanely raised meat, the White Dog has become ground zero for efforts in Philadelphia, and nationally, to organize locally owned businesses. Read more
Zingerman's Community of Businesses Ann Arbor, Michigan “Who really believes they couldn’t live without a ten dollar corned beef sandwich?” chuckles Paul Saginaw, whose facetious question tries to explain why Zingerman’s emphasizes high- quality food and remarkable service. The surprising answer, though, is tens of thousands of people living in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan, rich and poor alike, who collectively spend about $27 million at one of the eight Zingerman’s companies. ... Read more

Sections

Case Studies

Village of Tidzi, Morocco

Cape Croker, Canada

Dulac, Louisiana

Abingdon, Virginia

Bangkok, Thailand

Colombo, Sri Lanka

LaFarge, Wisconsin

Cerrito, Paraguay

New York, New York

Petal, Mississippi

Burlington, Vermont

Kasinthula, Malawi

Kumasi, Ghana

Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Slobostina, Croatia

Bongabon, Philippines

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Thaligun, Kavresthali VDC, Ward No. 8, Nepal

New Delhi, India

Davenport, California

Lusaka, Zambia

Hillsborough, North Carolina

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Document Actions