History of the Cooperative
The Nueva Vida cooperative (also known as Comamnuvi) was formed in 2001, a few short years after Hurricane Mitch ravaged Nicaragua (October 1998). Most of the individuals who would later be worker-owners at the Cooperative were relocated from the devastated slums of Managua to Ciudad Sandino with very few possessions, and faced almost complete unemployment. With some assistance, the group of women organized to construct their factory building, buy used machinery, and manufacture apparel for export to the US and Europe. Over the last several years, the Cooperative has grown substantially, becoming the first worker-owned Free Trade Zone in the world, and now produces high quality, primarily organic cotton T-shirts for export to international markets.
In their own words
Somos la única cooperativa en el mundo que operamos como zona franca en manos de las trabajadoras y producimos colectivamente para crear empleo sostenible en la comunidad, poniendo en práctica políticas que mejoren el nivel de capacidad económica de nuestras socias-trabajadoras en condiciones laborales justas para que puedan mantenerse ellas mismas y a sus familias, motivándolas a confeccionar prendas orgánicas de calidad aceptable en el mercado internacional.
We are the only cooperative in the world that operates as worker-owned and collectively operated free trade zone - creating sustainable employment in the community and putting in practice policies that improve the level of economic capacacity of our worker-owners under fair labor conditions so that they may sustain themselves and their families. This motivates the workers to produce organic garments of world class quality.
Challenges on the Shop Floor
Comamnuvi has expanded tremendously since its inception, but continues to struggle in the high-stakes and competitive apparel industry. They ask not for handouts, but for support as they strive to be an international model for socially and environmentally responsible apparel production. Currently, one of the most striking problems facing Comamnuvi is the old, worn-down machinery. While the members of the cooperative are talented garment workers, reliance on inferior machinery seriously inhibits the ability of the co-op to capitalize on the value of its labor. Additionally, the development that would allow the cooperative to move towards wider distribution and the production of higher-end clothing is increasingly difficult without the appropriate technology.
As entrepreneurs, the cooperative faces the challenges of any manufacturing operation (i.e. distribution, efficiency, productivity). As activists, they are fighting to raise standards and working conditions for garment workers around the world. As parents in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the worker-owners strive to achieve economic stability and better futures for their children. The Nicaraguan Garment Workers Fund recognizes the individuals of the Nueva Vida Cooperative as factory workers, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, activists, and visionaries and supports them in their quest to create real change in their communities and the world.
Contact the Nueva Vida Sewing Cooperative
COMAMNUVI
Zona Franca Masili DE KM 11 Carretera Nueva a Leon 1.6 KM Aabajo
Frente a Villa Soberana
Ciudad Sandino
Managua, Nicaragua
Email: comamnuvi_nic@yahoo.es
Telephone: (Intl code)-505-269-8023 (Intl code)-505-269-8185
Fax: (Intl code)-505-269-8186