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Two Widely Used Cooperative Education Publications are Now Available in Spanish

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Two widely used cooperative education publications from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are now available in Spanish thanks to the work of The Cooperative Foundation and the financial support of the CHS Foundation. “How to Start a Cooperative” and “Co-ops 101” provide insight into the cooperative way of organizing and operating a business and can be used as a framework for starting a cooperative.

The Cooperative Foundation was awarded a grant from the CHS Foundation’s Cooperative Education Grants Program to identify existing English language publications for translation into Spanish. The Cooperative Foundation sought input from cooperative developers and educators working with Spanish speaking populations to identify publications for translation. These two USDA Rural Development-Cooperative Programs’ publications are the first to be translated.

“These two publications are very important for co-op education and development,” said Jim Wadsworth, USDA agricultural economist. “Over the years we’ve been asked for our publications to be translated into Spanish. There is a high degree of involvement by native Spanish speakers in cooperatives.”

And these translations won’t just be seen stateside, Wadsworth said. “Our co-op publications are read all over the world. They’re used in South America, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Mexico—among many other places—and it will be nice to give people the option to have them in Spanish.”

USDA’s Cooperative Programs, within Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service, is a major source for cooperative information, statistics and research. The agency provides many publications, reports, statistical analyses and educational materials for cooperatives and those interested in cooperatives.

The translations were done by Caracol Language Cooperative, a worker-owned cooperative located in New York City. The designs of the Spanish translations are also compliant with the Rehabilitation Act section 508, meaning they are accessible to people with disabilities. The documents are free and available on the USDA Rural Development website.

The CHS Foundation is the major giving entity of CHS Inc., the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. As a part of the CHS stewardship focus, the CHS Foundation is committed to investing in the future of rural America, agriculture and cooperative businesses through education and leadership development.

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