Cooperative Education in Cuba

The future of Cuba is very close to my heart. I met many wonderful people who want to contribute and at the same time improve their living situation. With cooperatives we can achieve exactly that. We can create something together and at the same time earn enough for a dignified life. This is exactly why I support cooperatives in Cuba and why I am looking for best practice examples among cooperatives.

How do I do that?
By dropping by personally! I will conduct interviews, observe general assemblies up front, read the bylaws, evaluate educational materials and examine methods of teaching and learning closely.
I will make my findings available to all cooperatives completely free of charge.

I want to show how to learn to be cooperative!

For this purpose I would like to design a pluralistic educational approach that goes beyond the widespread entrepreneurship education. Cooperatives are not only about economic decision-making and behavior competences, but also about solidarity, cooperation, political and value-oriented shaping competences. I would like to develop a concept that facilitates start-ups, supports the basic and further training of members and is adapted to the Cuban culture.

Cuba is changing. Some even claim that Cuba today is no longer what it once was and that the socialist charm of the Caribbean island is slowly fading. I think this is debatable. But the luxury cruise liners in the port of Havana, the large hotel complexes in Varadero and the inflow of foreign investors cannot be ignored. Cuba is changing! But change can also be something positive, if you are allowed to design it. And this is where cooperatives come into play:

• They are independent of big investors and encourage participation.
• Cooperatives are an important counterweight to foreign capital, large state holding companies and private entrepreneurs.
• Cooperatives are more balanced because the profits are distributed among all.
• They stand for equality and the protection of minorities. They protect women and Afro-Cubans.

If you are interested in independent Cuban research on a topic with social impact, then support my project.
Maybe we will be able to achieve a collective financing for collective enterprises .

I need the money to cover research, travel, material and living expenses. As I am supervised locally by the university in Santa Clara, I have to pay tuition fees. A part of the fees also goes directly to the cooperative seminar. The professors* can again use it to finance workshops for cooperatives and research projects.