2022 Rural Fellows—Co-op Development

Pascaline Niyonshuti Author

08/08/2022 Added

13 Plays

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Student and Community Fellows talk about the community development projects they worked on with the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center during Summer 2022.

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[00:00:00.493]Hello, I'm Pascaline Niyonshuti Arafura Entone working
[00:00:04.770]with Nebraska Cooperative Development Center at UNL.
[00:00:09.030]Nebraska Cooperative Development Center assists groups
[00:00:12.300]and communities who are exploring
[00:00:15.000]or have developed a cooperative business.
[00:00:18.870]It was an amazing experience working
[00:00:21.570]with community cooperatives
[00:00:23.430]and Shalla my supervisor,
[00:00:25.290]who provided great guidance and support.
[00:00:28.860]With Cindy, I visited those community cooperatives
[00:00:32.250]in Hay Springs, Stapleton and Edward.
[00:00:36.480]I interviewed people who are
[00:00:38.580]on the board as well as the cooperative members.
[00:00:44.310]I'm Cindy Holden,
[00:00:45.300]a Development Specialist working statewide
[00:00:47.340]with the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center.
[00:00:49.980]When Pascaline joined our NCDC team
[00:00:51.960]as a Rural Futures Fellow this summer,
[00:00:54.000]it was an exciting opportunity for us
[00:00:55.860]to add another element to our work.
[00:00:58.110]For me, it was the ability to have someone else with me
[00:01:01.110]when I visited the cooperative grocery stores
[00:01:03.240]we had worked with.
[00:01:04.320]In June, we visited stores in Elwood,
[00:01:07.530]Stapleton and Hay Springs, Nebraska.
[00:01:10.410]Our visit to Hay Springs was particularly exciting,
[00:01:13.680]as we were able to join the community
[00:01:15.390]for the one year anniversary of the opening
[00:01:17.550]of the Farm to Family cooperative grocery store.
[00:01:20.340]Pascaline spent time connecting with board members,
[00:01:22.890]residents and employees,
[00:01:24.900]asking them what the co-op meant
[00:01:26.550]to their community, why they were members,
[00:01:28.860]and if appropriate, why they were not members.
[00:01:31.770]The information gathered will be used
[00:01:33.510]by the Farm to Family cooperative board
[00:01:35.610]as they evaluate the current success of the store,
[00:01:38.190]begin planning for their future success,
[00:01:40.830]including increasing membership.
[00:01:43.563]I enjoy listening
[00:01:44.617]to how cooperative is benefiting the community,
[00:01:48.030]including creating jobs in the community,
[00:01:50.640]supporting local produce,
[00:01:52.380]bringing people together and improving people's wellness
[00:01:56.940]where they now have groceries in their community
[00:01:59.394]and don't have to travel about 40 miles away to get
[00:02:03.390]to the nearest supermarket for groceries.
[00:02:08.250]I work case studies for those community cooperatives,
[00:02:11.460]we're focusing on the motivation part.
[00:02:14.100]So other communities can learn the benefit
[00:02:17.100]of your cooperative on community development.
[00:02:21.570]Hi, I am Charlotte Narjes,
[00:02:23.610]a Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator
[00:02:25.950]and the Associate Director
[00:02:27.210]of the Nebraska Co-op Development Center.
[00:02:29.340]I work statewide.
[00:02:30.810]Pascaline's work is important to NCDC.
[00:02:33.570]Grocery stores are an anchor institution
[00:02:35.820]in our rural communities.
[00:02:37.200]As one store is shared, the grocery store is the heart
[00:02:40.290]that keeps small rural communities like ours alive.
[00:02:43.410]The case studies that Pascaline has written
[00:02:45.540]capture a community's motivation
[00:02:47.430]for selecting the cooperative model.
[00:02:49.920]This will be very valuable in sharing
[00:02:51.720]with other communities exploring how to form their store.
[00:02:55.110]The case studies will also be available
[00:02:57.150]on the NCDC website and shared nationally with our peers.
[00:03:01.980]Also, I enjoy volunteering
[00:03:04.140]with Buy Fresh Buy Local,
[00:03:06.270]the east campus Discovery Days
[00:03:08.160]and Farmer's Market with Margaret.
[00:03:10.470]It was an amazing opportunity,
[00:03:13.440]where we are doing a taste test
[00:03:15.630]for the green garden harvest produced by Mikey
[00:03:20.280]I'm Margaret Milligan, Program Coordinator
[00:03:22.170]for Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska,
[00:03:24.120]a program of the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center
[00:03:27.360]that focuses on locally grown food.
[00:03:29.850]And I was happy to have Pascaline volunteer
[00:03:32.070]with Buy Fresh Buy Local at the farmer's market.
[00:03:34.890]Events like these where we make meaningful connections
[00:03:37.650]to the public are crucial to our program's mission
[00:03:40.830]of expanding the market for locally grown products.
[00:03:44.370]At the market we shared resources
[00:03:46.380]and conducted a taste test as a part
[00:03:48.540]of the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant.
[00:03:51.780]Over 200 youth and adults sampled a recipe
[00:03:54.780]that featured local produce.
[00:03:57.150]They were then asked to rate how well they liked it
[00:03:59.550]and received a recipe card.
[00:04:01.920]Pascaline assisted with the setup of our booth,
[00:04:04.740]preparation of taste test samples,
[00:04:06.840]and engagement with the crowd.
[00:04:08.730]By the end of the day, she had many conversations
[00:04:12.300]and learned about market goers preferences
[00:04:15.750]while assisting in our program's mission of outreach.
[00:04:21.420]Throughout this experience,
[00:04:22.950]I have developed communication, listening,
[00:04:26.070]and interpersonal skills.
[00:04:28.710]These are the skills that will enhance my next steps
[00:04:31.950]into graduate school and my future career as well,
[00:04:35.670]where I'll be connecting with people and definitely writing.
[00:04:41.520]Pascaline worked remotely throughout the summer
[00:04:43.800]and I appreciated her sense of responsibility
[00:04:46.320]and desire to make a difference.
[00:04:48.000]She was a self starter
[00:04:49.230]and needed to research the cooperative model.
[00:04:51.780]Our team quickly learned Pascaline's strengths
[00:04:54.030]and she ours,
[00:04:54.863]as together we worked through the team's cultural profile.
[00:04:58.200]This is one of the tools used
[00:04:59.730]by the Rural Fellows program to introduce team members.
[00:05:02.640]We plan to continue using this tool.
[00:05:06.060]Lastly, I was able to see other parts of Nebraska,
[00:05:10.230]such as Sandhills during my trip to Hay Springs.
[00:05:14.130]Thank you.

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2022 Rural Fellows—Co-op Development

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