CASE STUDIES

What factors contribute to the success or failure of a cooperative? What are the strenghts, weaknesses and potential of co-operative enterprises? How co-operatives improve the lives of their members? The case studies presented in this section give an idea of some answers.

Electric Co-operatives in Bangladesh and Bolivia

NRECA International Ltd has prepared a report on two electric co-operative case studies in Bangladesh and Bolivia to examine what makes a co-operative development experience successful and what lessons can be applied elsewhere - Cooperativa Rural de Electrificacion in Bolivia and Comilla I Palli Bidyut Samity in Bangladesh. Bolivia's co-operative was community initiated and Bangladesh's co-operative was government initiated.

The report concludes: " Lessons learned in the process include: first, the fundamental importance of leadership and community involvement; second, the project must be economically feasible, likely with a dense load center; third, the project must have sufficient and low-cost financing; fourth, the application of hands-on experience and advicfe (including standardized and proven engineering and design) is critical to the cost effective construction of the electric system; and fifth, the focus of the project must always be the consumer-owner and the organization and management of the cooperative must stick to the principles of democratic control. This final point includes an on-going member outreach effort as well as regular rotation of the cooperative leadership." Cooperative Development Case Studies: report