Abstract:

Tosepan Titataniske is a cooperative union located in the Northeastern Sierra of Puebla, founded in 1977 as Movimiento Cooperativo Indigena (Indigenous Cooperative Movement), in order to find a solution to the basic products shortage; in that time, cattle and agriculture were the main economic activities in the area, however these would not fulfill the inhabitants’ feeding needs and their livelihood. The current research indicates the different activities developed by this cooperative as part of a sustainable model aimed to permeate in rural communities all over the northeastern Sierra of Puebla.

Today the cooperative is integrated by 290 communities from 22 municipalities in the northeastern Sierra of Puebla, whose members are mainly from Nahuatl and Totonaca origin aiming at a sustainable development for their families, communities and the region.

The model promoted by the Cooperative is based on the premises of democracy, fair economic participation, self-reliance, autonomy, compromise, gender equality and cooperation, aiming to provide a healthy diet, profitable businesses while employing the community members, stressing the importance of improving their skills on the individual and the collective level. Revaluation, rescue and preservation of their culture are some of the ultimate goals, working within a sustainable framework.

This research emphasizes some activities implemented by the cooperative as good examples of sustainable strategies to achieve development in rural areas. A few instances are:
• The creation of an eco-friendly hotel featuring 15 rooms and 14 cabins where different eco techniques are applied, such as the usage of bamboo for building and a rainwater collector system, among others.
• Organic pepper and coffee production and trade, as well as the region’s endemic honey.
• An educational project comprising English teaching, computer literacy and training on management, sociopolitical affairs, ethnicity, and environmentally related issues concerning the region inhabitants.
• The creation of a women’s association aiming to work together to gain their livelihood, implementing activities such as sightseeing, handcrafts, clothes confection, among others.

This research documents the activities and the impact in the cooperative members’ quality of life.

Keywords:

Cooperative, sustainable model, rural communities.