By Kelley Turlington, Weaver Street Market in Southern Village Wellness Department
Our partnership with La Riojana Co-op in Argentina enables us to get unique, co-op made products at a great price while benefitting the communities who grow the ingredients. Direct co-op trade has saved our shoppers thousands on quality Riojana wine and olive oil! In May, 2017, several members of our staff traveled to La Rioja province to visit the co-op and maintain the strong ties we’ve forged. We toured the vineyards and winery and learned about the community projects that have resulted from the fair trade prices and premiums paid to farmers. This is one in a series of posts about the trip.
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Chilecito, Argentina, on behalf of the Southern Village Weaver Street Market. We were invited by one of our co-op partners, La Riojana, to spend a week touring their farms and operations. We had the chance to meet co-op farmers and winemakers. We visited the past and future sites of some of their fair trade projects, including the upcoming health clinic, funded in part through Weaver Street’s partnership with them.
La Riojana is a cooperative in the truest sense, valuing the input and ideas of member families. They see their co-op as a real partnership, open to input from all sides. If any single person has any thoughts on wine production or style, or on an agricultural method, they are welcome and encouraged to share those ideas. Weaver Street Market shares a similar commitment to listening to input from our members, considering their input seriously, and acting accordingly. This openness to member ideas has carried both co-ops through good times and bad. According to Walter, our host from La Riojana, “When it is tough, it is when we need each other the most.” It is this commitment to the cooperative that has allowed La Riojana to ultimately thrive since they were founded in 1940.
The co-op to co-op partnership between La Riojana and Weaver Street Market means working together to pursue common values of environmental sustainability, owner well-being, and the building up and support of local communities. Many, but not all, of their member growers have an organic certification. The group we traveled with included organic farmers that had come to Chilecito to advise small farmers on how to adopt more organic and sustainable growing practices and move toward an organic certification, which carries a price premium for the grapes.
We witnessed their attention to owner well-being in the form of a recreation center for members and their families. They offer classes and a sports club, as well as a lounge and meeting space. The fair trade program has brought water and education to the local community, strengthening and supporting the small town of Tilimuqui. They plan to build a new health clinic with a special focus on maternal and pediatric care. These projects are supported through fair trade premiums.
While observing different aspects of La Riojana Co-op we talked a lot about the “collateral effect of fair trade.” Because of that effect, co-ops can rise together by supporting each other. Weaver Street is able purchase quality wines and olive oil at great prices. Our member families get to enjoy these products and know that they aren’t just drinking a great bottle of wine, but have a hand in supporting sustainable agriculture and fair trade projects that bring water, education, and health care to communities in rural Argentina. The member families of both co-ops are connected through these products.
Each person we met while visiting La Riojana was truly passionate and devoted to their wine, the co-op model, and all the positive benefits that can come from the partnership between La Riojana and Weaver Street Market. It was truly a remarkable experience, and I am honored to share it with you.