Welcome to our Resource Center

“When I joined EE, I saw a cohort of people who were very experienced and active in the co-op. I thought to myself, “That’s so cool. In 20 years, I want to be that.” It is a personal gift from any worker-owner to the co-op when they believe, “I’m more committed to being a 20-year co-op owner than to want a certain career.” For me, it’s now more about being here at this co-op than whatever job I may be holding at a given moment.”

Much like a mother fungus catalyzes a waterfall of positive effects for the soil beneath banana plants, when we patronize Rio y Valle and Equal Exchange, we feed resources into organizations who are methodically and creatively bolstering people power.

Through a gender plan and trainings, Rio y Valle created an expectation that women should participate in the project’s peer exchanges and be elected to co-op committees. Without intentionally welcoming girls and women, they rarely would be able to participate in these opportunities.

With buyers who see and value the unique contributions of smallholders, bananas serve as a means to a steady business that simultaneously stabilizes and revives community.

The worker-owners of La Siembra Cooperative Inc. and the members of the Equal Exchange Worker Cooperative have voted to merge, creating a unique model of international worker cooperation. This integration builds on the long-standing commercial and solidarity relationship between our two organizations as fair trade worker co-ops.

The food system is not set up to favor small-scale producers, small or medium independent businesses, or truly mission-based organizations. This is exactly why Equal Exchange and our network of partners and supporters do what we do: to demonstrate that another way is possible, and in fact is increasingly necessary. Our chocolate and cocoa lines faced a triple threat: high prices, scarce cocoa, and tariffs. Though stabilizing, these challenges serve as a cautionary tale.