COOPERATIVES AS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS: The Case of Kamay Krafts Multi-Purpose Cooperative

Abstract

Cooperatives can be considered as means for helping people through the opportunities they provide, which serve as venues for personal and economic development. Cooperativism, since the time it was established, is aimed at providing assistance and support to its members through die virtues of self-help and cooperation. Kamay Krafts Multi-Purpose Cooperative started informally in September 1991, and is now known as an exporter of bags made of recycled materials. Its patrons come from countries like Switzerland, US and Australia. The cooperative is also known for its members who are women who come from some of the most depressed areas of the metro. The cooperative is said to provide its members widt micro financing and livelihood services. The aim of diis research is to check on the effectivity and efficiency of the cooperative as regards its delivery of its services, as perceived by its members. The cooperative’s members in its Payatas community were taken in as samples. This study gives prime to the significance of cooperatives as development institutions. Cooperatives are able to provide opportunities to its members, and this translates to the vital role of the cooperative in empowerment, and this has been the case for Kamay Krafts Multi- Purpose Cooperative.