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Puente del Sur is a cooperative that commercializes various products made by other cooperative and social movements throughout Buenos Aires and the surrounding provinces. They began working in August of 2003 and currently have seven members. They are located in Ituzaingó, a city on the western outskirts of Buenos Aires. The cooperative has always had strong political and social convictions, and maintains close links with a wide group of small, and in many cases fragile, producers. The products they buy for distribution stand out for their artisan craftsmanship and ecologically friendly method of production. Puente del Sur also recently started producing their own food, mostly assorted jams and "escabeche" spreads. Their eggplant "escabeche" is great!
Orders are placed by email and telephone, and the cooperative then distributes orders to different areas of Greater Buenos Aires according to the day of the week. Because of the | nature of this task, it is fundamental that they have access to reliable transportation.
Their current auto has caused them a lot of problems in the last year, and they no longer consider it safe to drive on a regular basis. As such, they are looking to buy another vehicle as soon as possible. This will be the longest loan that La Base has ever given, with small monthly quotas stretching over two years. The reason for this is the relatively small revenue of the cooperative, plus the extra time needed to recoup the gains from the purchase of an automobile (as opposed to some raw material for production, for example).
The auto will be insured, and the quotes of $AR495 per month should be well within the reach of the cooperative. As such, this loan is low-risk. In a worst case scenario, the car could be sold, recouping a large proportion of the capital. The only real risk would be if the car they buy does not run well. |
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