This last weekend we travelled to the small town of Salinas. This is not the Salinas of Hemingway on the lush California coast, but Salinas de Bolivar in the Ecuadorian highlands. The Ecuadorian Salinas is a charming village at an elevation of over 11,000 feet with quilt-like pastures that remind me of the bucolic scenery of Tuscany.
Salinas de Bolivar is an interesting example of community led and organized micro financing projects. An Italian priest, Padre Antonio Polo traveled to the town in 1972 and helped set up cooperatives that diversified the economy beyond the local salt mine with production of milk, cheese, chocolate, turrón candy, mushrooms, and herbs. The town is famous for 12 wild herbs and spices so the possibilities are limitless. They could even open up a KFC :)
Salinas also produces soccer balls. I thought it was interesting that some of the soccer balls made for export said, “Made in Japan” in English. I asked our guide if any part of the balls were made in Japan and he said no that they just put that on the balls because then they sold better in the markets. I just hope that no priest was involved in this engaño. :)
We stayed at the Refugio in town, which is operated by William Ramirez. William is a dignified man with salt and pepper hair. His George Clooney-like demeanor has likely wowed both foreign and local ladies alike. He is very proud of the time he has spent in Salinas and told me he is actually from Salinas. This is dubious however because he speaks Spanish with a European accent. Regardless of his roots, he gave us more fulfilling explanations about the Salinas cooperatives than our guide Patricio whose mellowness was so extreme that I wanted to check his pulse. His tranquil attitude made me wonder what kind of herbs Salinas really exported. :)
William explained to us that the workers in the various industries make minimum wage while those that bring their product to the cooperatives (milk, spices, herbs etc.) earn money based on the weight of their goods. He said the cooperatives are constantly struggling and that the gray in his hair is not a result of old age, but rather stress. William told us that when the cooperatives began to sell turrón candy, a man from the lowland town of Ambato came to Salinas and asked for 10 large boxes of turrónes. The man said he would only accept a very low price because the market was so bad. The cooperative accepted the low price, but after the man left they questioned why the man would buy 10 large boxes if the markets weren’t good. They soon realized that they were taken advantage of.
William emphasized that they have learned a great deal and that the town is not engaged in projects, but rather they are part of a process of development. The cooperatives have struggled with exporting artisanal products abroad because they are competing with more efficient and mechanized Chilean and Argentinean companies. Still, earnings from the cooperatives have built roads, schools, and contributed to the welfare and greater equality of the community. Salinas has been largely successful due to land reform, access to credit, expansion of educational opportunities, infrastructure, promotion of agricultural diversification and the sharing of profits.
The Salinas cooperatives have thrived, but they depend on strong leadership and consensus. The long-term comparative advantage of Salinas is questionable because the emphasis is on “buen vivir” (good living) rather than efficiency. One has to ask if it possible that the larger producers will become so much more efficient than Salinas that Salinas will be unable to compete in international markets? Despite the potential fragility of the Salinas cooperatives, they are part of a process and it is indubitable that they will continue to evolve and adapt. I hope that Salinas continues to succeed with the communal solidarity that has held them together for the past 40 years and provides a small-scale alternative to the massive consumption and production of modern society, which we know is definitely not sustainable.
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