Cooperatives are a series of several different farms that pool their resources together to make the businesses more efficient. The cooperative we visited today was Santa Maria de Dota which is a series of over 900 farms. Dota works provides many benefits but has some short-comings.

Dota started with just over 90 farms working together. They were able to save money by creating one single mill that had enough scale to handle all their coffee beans. Instead of having to build their own mill, hire their own workers, and roast some of their own coffee, they are able save money by sharing one large mill. The co-op is also able to keep high standards for the coffee they sell. This then allows them to have a slightly higher price than the price listed on the stock exchange. This is vitally important for today when prices are low, they can get a little bit more to help their farmers. To improve profits, they are also roasting some of their own coffee and selling it at their cafés. This helps improve profits and adds value to the product. These additional sales are vital to the community because of the low coffee prices. They will help the coffee community remain profitable while the prices are so low.

There are many benefits and few hardships that come along with the co-op. Some farms may find it hard to meet the quality standards for the co-op. If a farm does not have the quality they are looking for, they will not be able benefit from all the coop has to offer.

Dota is essential to the Santa Maria community. The large plant provides a cornerstone for the community and is able to bring the 900 members together. The town of Santa Maria would not be nearly as important as it is today.