On July 13 we opened the “YO COMPRO” COOPERATIVE STORE AND COLLECTION CENTER in the city of Inírida (Colombia). Members of the COOMATAVÉN Cooperative, representatives of the Environmental Secretariat of Inírida, REDD+ Matavén team, ACATISEMA, and various guests from the community attended the opening.
We are creating the cooperative stores through our COOMATAVÉN Cooperative to market products that are grown, crafted and needed by Matavén indigenous communities and people from the surrounding area. These are spaces to satisfy Matavén consumer needs and to create new economic and commercial opportunities to improve their quality of life.
Considering that Matavén is a vast territory (almost 2 million hectares) and for some communities it is a great challenge to go to Inírida (high costs, distances and time), we are also building Cooperative Stores with solar energy in the communities of Morichal (Morocoto Sector) and Cumaral (Cumaral Sector).