COOP ESTABLISHING

WORKSHOPS

Workshops for establishing the Coop for the Cocle Region Farm Associations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to establish a Coop 2-3

Statute Workshop 4-5

Constitution Assembly 6-7

HOW TO ESTABLISH A COOP
Page 2

GROUP INTERVIEW:

Identify with the group the following:

 causes that motivate the group to organize as a cooperative.

 Homogeneity of the group (how are they alike)

 Link (relationship)

 Economic potential

 Objective

 Number of people

 Social needs

 Location of the farm

 Costs to organize

 Potential activities (of which we cannot perform these.)

GROUP COMMITMENTS:

 Setting of registration fees

 Establish contribution amount

 Determine the link

 Name support committees

 Opening of Bank Account

 Name the accountant

 Name a Pre-Coop Committee

*Survey form will be submitted. Brigade will split in groups to do it.

HOW TO ESTABLISH A COOP
Page 3

FIRST STEP:

To establish a coop the representative of the interested group requests guidance on the process to

get them established to the IPACOOP (Panamanian autonomous Cooperative Institute), which

shall inform the group that they must submit a formal request in a note addressed to the Regional

Director. (Help out the Group on writing down the note, after knowing who’s going to be their

board).

The note must be attached a list of those interested to form up the coop, with their cedula (i.d.

number), signature, address and phone number (not less than 20 people).

NEXT STEPS:

 Complete basic seminar (20 hours seminar with IPACOOP staff)

 Draft the Statute (Next workshops)

 Socio-Economic feasibility study

 Constitution Assembly to establish the Coop. (Next workshops)

 Wait for the IPACOOP Resolution recognizing Personeria Juridica (Legal Entity)
STATUTE WORKSHOP Page 4

The Statute of the cooperative must be signed by the President and the Secretary and must have:

1. Its name (with an indication of the liability, i.e. limited, etc.)

2. Its domicile and region of operations;

3. The objective, showing the activities proposed to develop;

4. Cooperative; integration standards

5. The duties and rights of partners, ensuring absolute equality between them;

6. Conditions for admission and voluntary retirement and the causes of exclusion of members;

7. The sanctions, causes and procedures;

8. The specification of the maximum percentage of contributions that each partner may possess;

9. The form of payment and reimbursement of contributions;

10. The way to establish and increase or reduce the share capital;

11 How to evaluate the contributions subscribed;

12. The way constitute social funds, its object and rule for its implementation;

13. The shape and distribution of surplus or losses resulting from the respective business; year
rule

14 How to settle the contributions and limitations for the purpose stipulated;

15. The duration of the socio-economic exercise, which must not be greater than one year. How-
ever, there may be an exception in the first year;

16. The way of voting.

17. The amount and kind of warranty established by the coop on the members whose custody are
assets or funds of the Coop;

18. The requirements that shall be followed for the reform of the Statute;

19 Exact date each year for the Assembly to meet up;

20. The way in which the cooperative internally regulate the use and enjoyment of their assets.

The statutory reforms shall be proposed by a number not less than ten percent (10%) of the
members, to be determined by the statute or the Board of Directors. Statutory reforms and regu-
lations than mere internal administration, registration will be handled with the same procedure for
the registration of cooperatives.
STATUTE WORKSHOP Page 5

 AFTER GIVING OUT THE WORKSHOP ON THE STATUTE REQUIREMENTS, BEGIN WOR-
KING ON THE STATUTE DRAFT.

 DIVIDE INTO GROUPS TO ADDRESS THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS.

 AFTER WORKING IN GROUPS COME OVER AND LET ALL THE MEMBERS CHOOSE, FOR
EXAMPLE NAME OF THE COOP, OBJECTIVES, DOMICILE, ACTIVITIES, DUTIES AND RIGHS,
AND SO ON. (ESTABLISH A VOTING SYSTEM FOR EACH OF THE TOPICS TO DECIDE OF)

 HELP THE GROUP ORGANIZE TO ELECT THEIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. AT LEAST 5 MEM-
BERS AND ALWAYS A UNEVEN NUMBER. (I.E. PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT, SECRETARY,
TREASURER, AND A VOCAL)

 PREPARE THE GROUP FOR THE NEXT WORKSHOP (CONSTITUTION ASSEMBLY).

CONSTITUTION ASSEMBLY WORKSHOP Page 6

All coops shall be established in Assembly by the ones interested on it, in which they will approve
the Statute, they will subscribe the contributions and will elected the members of the Board of
Directors, who shall be included in the act of Constitution.

The Assembly Constitution Act will be signed by the founder members, with their i.d. number and
the value of their initial member contributions.

The minimum number of founders will be twenty members, but the IPACOOP may accept a mi-
nor amount, in some cases.

The person elected President of the Board of Directors, will be responsible for getting the recog-
nition of the Personeria Juridica (Legal Status) of the cooperative, through formal request to the
IPACOOP to be granted legal personality, prior compliance and verification of the following re-
quirements:

 Five copies of the minutes of the Assembly of Constitution, duly signed, and the list of the
founders;

 Original full text of the Statute, with four copies;

 Certification of cooperative education, granted by the IPACOOP to the founder members,

with at least twenty hours;

 Economic and social feasibility study;

 Certification from the bank account number and amount of deposits, at least to the twenty-
five percent (25%) contributions subscribed by the founders.

The IPACOOP has a sixty days term to give or not recognition of cooperative personeria juridica,
in which they will say that it has complied fully with the requirements to be established.

Expired this term without a ruling been given, the cooperative may ask the IPACOOP to be regis-
tered in their cooperative register.
CONSTITUTION ASSEMBLY WORKSHOP Page 7

 AFTER GIVING THE GROUP THE CONSTITUTION ASSEMBLY WORKSHOP, BEGIN DRAF-
TING THE CONSTITUTION ACT.

 A FORM WILL BE SUBMITTED TO ADD ALL THE FOUNDER MEMBER NAMES, WITH THEIR
I.D. NUMBER AND THEIR SIGNATURES.

 THE ACT MUST BE SIGNED OF BY THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS.