The Cooperative of Organic and Traditional Farmers and Exporters of Nicaragua (COPROEXNIC) works closely with the Centre for Development in Central America (CDCA), the nonprofit Jubilee House Community and its project in Nicaragua. With more than 30 years of experience working with the poor, the CDCA works with local leaders to create sustainable jobs in Nicaraguan communities. COPROEXNIC was started in 1995 and works with organic farmers in the countryside by providing technical and agricultural assistance, and identifying and obtaining a market for the exportation of their products. COPROEXNIC serves over an estimated 2,000 growers in 12 different communities throughout western Nicaragua.

COPROEXNIC gives farmers access to a better price for their crops, which allows them to stay on their land and continue farming. Many farmers in Nicaragua have been forced to leave their farms and move to main cities to seek other opportunities because they could not support their families through agriculture. The result of the migration off the land is an increase in poverty in a country where the majority of people struggle to make ends meet. The COPROEXNIC model has proven effective for farmers: through organized cooperative business management, farmers can continue to produce and profit from their land and labor. COPROEXNIC also helps farmers successfully export their product to higher price markets around the world.

**All images from Creative Commons. Specific Authors: John Pavelka.