“The Cooperativa Agropecuaria de Servicios Extracciones Esenciales Siuna de Responsabilidad Limitada (COOPEESIUNA, R.L), was established in September 1999. It is conformed by 163 small producers (27 women and 136 men), benefitting 815 people that make up the families involved in 16 communities from the Siuna Region on the North Atlantic and within the buffering zone of the Biosphere Reserve Bosawas (RRB by its acronym in Spanish).

The cooperative is supporting and boosting the establishment of a community ran agroindustry microenterprise dedicated to the production, processing and commercializaing of essential oils extracted from aromatic plants. The project has started with Dioica pepper leaf extract.

German cooperation provides technical support to the cooperative since 2008 in the production of essential oils and cacao. In 2012 COOPEESIUNA performed its first export to Germany.”

**All images from Creative Commons.