Cooperating and facilitating access to environmentally friendly products. That is how the members of the Otsokop association are working. The partnership was created in 2015 by three people in Angelu, and during this time many new people have joined the project. “Create a friendly place that favours the social link, by investing in the local economy and through short marketing channels between producers and consumers.” This is the intention, as explained in the presentation of the website of the association.

Jump from Internet to store

At first, the association made the offer of local products over the internet and each member had to make a list of their purchases and then go looking for them on the day of distribution. In 2016 the partnership made a significant leap: open the point of sale. “We felt we had to take the step,” said Josiane, a member of the Libyan association, in an interview by Kanaldude.

The Otsolab store, located in the San Izpiritu district of Baiona, opens on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the afternoon. “We campaigned and secured EUR 12,000 to buy the materials needed for trade,” says Libya. In addition to opening the store, Otsokop also jumped from 100 members to 400. All members participate in the decisions of the association and have to spend three hours a month on the operation of Otsokop: at the point of sale, placing orders… The lack of intermediaries allows them to pay the producers dignified and, at the same time, offer them products at a reduced price.

Launching of a larger project

The Otsokop project goes beyond the existing store: its aim is to open a small supermarket and to do so they have decided to form a cooperative at the general congress. Faced with the multinationals' hyper-market model, the project aims to be an alternative to local production and organic food, and for that it is working.

Spaces and projects are being created that shorten the way between producers and consumers. Offering quality food and working cooperatively and in a participatory manner.