A Co-operative is an autonomous and duly registered association of persons with a common bond of interest, who have voluntarily joined together to meet their social, economic and cultural needs and aspirations by making equitable contributions to the capital required, patronizing their products and services, and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertaking in accordance with the universally accepted co-operative principles.

1. “WHAT IS A COOPERATIVE”

2. • Definition of the co-operative:
A Co-operative is an autonomous and duly
registered association of persons with a common
bond of interest, who have voluntarily joined
together to meet their social, economic and
cultural needs and aspirations by making
equitable contributions to the capital required,
patronizing their products and services, and
accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of
the undertaking in accordance with the
universally accepted co-operative principles.

3. Nature and Character of Co-operatives
Co-Operatives are both associations of people
and business enterprises. They are distinguished
from other organizations by their philosophy,
nature and character. Failure to appreciate their
true nature and character deviates from co-
operative principles and ideals and loses sight of
the ultimate objective of the co-operative
movement.

4. 1. Co-operatives are service-oriented.
Co-cooperatives are organized to serve their members
by providing goods and services at reasonable cost.
Members contribute the capital of the co-operative
so that goods and services can be appropriately
contributions will earn from the business.
Co-cooperatives, in servicing the members, do not act
as charitable organizations. Members are aware that
the benefits come from their contributions,
patronage refund, and mutual efforts to help one
another. The motto is “Co-operatives are not for
profit and not for charity but service.”

5. 2. Co-operatives are community-oriented.
Co-operatives work for the welfare of their
members by integrating themselves into the life
of the community in particular and the nation in
general. Co-operatives enhance the people’s
welfare through increased productivity for both
the members and the communities where they
operate.

6. 3. Co-operatives are people-oriented.
Co-operatives are not merely economic
instruments concerned with dividends and
related economic and financial returns. They are
the mechanisms of change for total human
development. This means the total development
of man as human being in all the economic,
political, cultural, and spiritual aspects.
According to G. Fauquet, the goal of the co-
operatives is to make people- people with sense
of both individual and joint responsibility- so
that they may rise individually to a full personal
life and collectively to a full social life.

7. If a co-operative starts and operates solely from
borrowed capital, it violates the principle of self-
help and losses much of its autonomous character.
Co-operatives must depend on the patronage of
their own members and not from the non-
members. However, in certain cases a limited
patronage by non-members may be allowed
mainly for reasons of business viability and
service to the community.

8. 4. Co-operatives are owned, managed, and
patronized by members.
Co-operatives are member-owned, member-
controlled, and member-used. Ownership is a very
important factor in the success of any co-
operative. It is very important that members have
full authority to manage and control their o-
operative.

9. • 5. Co-operatives are business enterprises.
• Co-operatives engage in business with social
responsibility. They play a meaningful economic role
in the community life by serving and performing as
efficiently and responsively as the other financial and
business enterprises. Co-operatives have to generate
surplus to be able to continually improves and expand
its services. They have to be viable, creative,
enterprising, and efficient to continually grow and
serve the needs of their members. Increasing
patronage cannot be maintained without quality
service, management and performance. The net
surplus generated from business operations are
allocated to the members at the end of the year.

10. 6.Co-operatives develop best through self-help and
mutual help. (L 2 page 2)
Robert Owen advocated the philosophy of self-help
that inspired the “Rochdale Pioneers” to organize.
He said “If you want something done, do it
yourself”. The philosophy has been responsible for
the success of many co-operatives all over the
world- and it is the best alternative for the poor in
any country to unite and help themselves out of their
depressed condition. This is not to say that they
should not be assisted. But assistance from outside,
whether technical or financial, must not stifle rather
stimulate initiative, self-help and self-reliance. The
principle of subsidiary also applies- that before
asking or soliciting from the outside, self-
determination and self-capability should be
considered.

11. • The role of the government and non-government
organizations in the development of co-
operatives should be assistance and not
dominance. They should not in any manner
interfere in the purely internal affairs of the co-
operatives, taking care that they preserve their
autonomous and independence and self-help
through mutual-help characters. On the part of
the co-operatives being assisted, they should do
their part by seeing to it that the objective of the
assistance given is achieved- that they grow
stronger rather than become dependent upon
such assistance.

12. The assisting agency or agencies should make the
real need be felt by the members. The assistance
should begin from the organization stage and
sustained through the development stage up to the
point when the co-operative begins to operate on a
self-sustaining basis.

13. 7.Co-operatives serve best when they answer the
real and felt the needs of the members.
How do we expect the members to participate in the
activities and to patronize the business of their co-
operative whose services they do not really need?
Of what benefit are co-operatives that do not
serve the real needs of the members? It is
important therefore that proper approaches and
techniques are employed to ensure that the real
needs of the members are identified and recognize
before any co-operative is organized.

14. 8.Co-operatives develop best from bottom to top.
Being mass-based organizations, co-operatives develop
best from the bottom to the top. Organizationally,
their development should be from the primary level
to the secondary, tertiary, and up to the apex.
Geographically, they should develop from the
barangays to the municipality, provincial, city,
regional, and national.
The primary co-operatives are the foundation stones of
the whole co-operative structure. Organizing the
apex before the base is like building the roof of the
house before its foundations. Sooner or later, in such
a case, the roof topples down because the foundation
is weak and unable to support its load.

15. 9.The development of co-operatives is enhanced
through a multi-sectoral approach.
Having in mind the specific roles of each sector- the
government, non-government, and the co-operative
sector- must play, a multi-sectoral approach can
ensure that all aspects of the development process are
considered. This enhances the smooth and continuous
development of the co-operatives. This approach
involves the participation of all sectors from the
planning stage to the implementation, evaluation, and
monitoring of all activities. Such approach enhances
true people power- enlightened, democratic, and
participative- in all levels, both organizational and
geographical

16. Types of coops
• Service, Multi Purpose, Advocacy
• Agrarian, C Bank, Dairy, Education
• Electric, Financial Service, Fishermen
• Health services, housing, transport
• Water services, Workers
• And other as CDA shall determine like Credit,
Consumer, Producers, Marketing