Competiton in Yatzaputzan

Clouds come in over patchwork fields in Yatzaputzan

My coworker Edwin and I recently went to Ambato, the fourth largest city in Ecuador.  And then we caught a bus to a community up in the mountains above Ambato where the cold wind blows clouds across the dirt road and a girl from Michigan expects snow to start falling from the gray sky at any moment.  This little community has nothing more than an old blue sign along the country road that reads "Yatzaputzan" to demark the wood houses and dirt road that form a community, but years ago someone from this area contacted PCD (Partners for Christian Development) about training in agriculture.  Eventually they started a savings and loan program, a bakery, and a cheese factory.  The last of these three was the motive for our visit to the community.  To help with start the cheese factory, PCD gave a loan for the sanitary registry and the initial milk purchases.  With the loan, PCD also made a long-term commitment to the development of that factory and the surrounding community.

Community members at the cheese factory

At its start, the cheese factory met a large need in Yatzaputzan, Tamboloma, and surrounding communities of the indigenous Kichwa people.  With many dairy cattle on the mountains, the farmers of the community had no other option but to sell their milk at the market price to buyers from outside the community.  By starting a cheese factory, the farmers continued to sell their milk at that price, but they got back the whey, which could be used to feed their livestock.  At the same time, the cheese factory added value to the milk by producing a white cheese and yogurt that were then sold for higher prices in Ambato.  With the proceeds, the community association was able to support the needs of its members while also providing work for four people.

Straining cheese in green netting and placing it in molds

In the past year, though, things have changed dramatically.  Where they once was a monopoly on the purchase of milk, the cheese factory now has to compete with the a large dairy company that set up an outpost for purchasing milk in the same community.  Buying milk at a higher price, the dairy company has convinced many farmers to switch their loyalty, but the milk company does not give back to the community like the cheese factory did.  Two employees at the cheese factory had to find other work, and neither whey nor funds are returning to the community as they once did.  The cheese factory is at an important juncture in which it must adapt to the demands of market competition, and PCD is committed to supporting it in this venture.  Maybe it will mean the community's savings and loan program will need to lend to farmers to buy more cows and sell more milk to the cheese factory, and maybe it means selling the cheese directly in Ambato to raise income and be able to pay higher prices to the milk farmers.  whatever route the cheese factory takes, PCD will continue to walk alongside them and give support and advice.

Factory where cheese is produced on ground floor

Like the story of any business, this story is not over, and there are many uncertainties about what the next chapter might hold.  As the cheese factory meets challenges, PCD has committed to playing an active role in the story of meeting and overcoming those challenges.