Salt Production Update

I've now completed two meeting with the salt committees in villages spread along the seashore. AMURT has been working with these communities for over a year so all the committee members seem well informed about the coming project. However the project we'll embark upon requires far more money and work than an individual can produce. However every time I bring up the issue of Cooperatives during a meeting the room is filled with silence. Pressing the issue the only response I find is "Salt producers aren't in the habit of working together" Unfortunately I don't have any experience with cooperative either and so I am casting about looking for ideas. I ask Sampurna, the head of the agriculture projects, for ideas. She did know of a couple working agricultural co-op and gave me the charter for one. Reading through it was very helpful. I had nothing specific included and must have just been created from generalized co-op template. It simply gave a structure and rule of conduct for any group of people trying to work together. I may end up copying much of it into the charter I will eventually help draft for the salt producers.