Behind the iconic peasant with a red poncho and hat, sitting in front of the main facade of the town in Salinas, province of Bolívar, hides an emblematic experience of peasant work and organization that deserves to be shared and disseminated.
The original brand, over time, has gone from representing several lines of quality artisan peasant products, to a whole process of rural development in Ecuador.
How does our story begin?
Let's start with a brief look at its protagonists and their first steps. What we are today we owe to how many efforts, successes and mistakes have been made over the course of these five decades.
Its protagonists: local women and men and those from distant lands, generated positive synergies between the urgent need to get out of oppression, hunger, unhealthiness and oblivion, with the energy, knowledge and desire to change the world. These ingredients were enough in 1970 to begin to trace a path that would change the reality of the families of a town, its communities and those who joined it.
Its first steps: creation of a savings and credit cooperative, production and commercialization of artisanal cheeses, the spinning mill and hand-woven garments by women of the community, were the gears that made the community organization work with the support of international cooperation.
Progressively, several other initiatives have been added to this adventure that have made Salinerito an iconic Community Peasant Brand of Ecuador, which represents dozens of quality products and a unique organizational process, where surpluses are reinvested in the same process and, there is no centralization of production but production plants owned by the community in each community...
That makes us different?
Giving added value to local raw materials is one of our keys, the transformation of the product in each community, the commercialization under the same Brand, the payment to producers and suppliers through the local savings and credit cooperative, the points of sale own in the big cities, have made it possible to build a solid economic production circuit based on solidarity and fair trade.
This unique way of working, added to the warmth of its people, its diversity of handmade products, the captivating landscape of the town and its surroundings, today links some 3,200 families, including producers of raw materials, processors, administrators, carriers, marketers, tourist services, technicians and trainers.
The future in our hands!
For its protagonists, the path traveled has been and continues to be a mixture of joys, triumphs, learning and sometimes frustrations. So intense is the challenge of the present and the future that the new generations have. With will, vision, and a deep sense of solidarity and humanity, they must not only maintain but improve the organizational system that has changed the lives of thousands of people.
In a reality that rapidly transforms and evolves; the new protagonists have an important responsibility in their hands.
I welcome you to our blog, where we will share various topics related to the Salinerito, to learn more about its way of working, its people and organization, its delicious products and easy-to-prepare recipes, wonderful corners to visit and make community tourism your best option
Making quality products is our pride! That is why we encourage you to try an artisanal cheese or a Salinerito chocolate, true delights to the palate and the feelings. Their exquisite flavor and the peasant hands that have made them are the main ingredients to enjoy "The Simplicity of the Countryside".
Discover in our online store all the variety of Salinerito products.
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