Mwebalehan Association launched new Cooperative in Port Vila

August 22, 2024 7:30 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Sabrina Tabi.

Mwebalehan Association has established a new cooperative at Namburu area in Port Vila this week, as part of its objectives in uniting the members of the Central Pentecost 2 (CP2) community residing in Port Vila.

Officially named as “Mwebalehan Consumer & Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd,” the Cooperative’s President, Chrissante Vireibo, stated that it will be jointly owned by the 14 Nakamals (traditional villages) within the association, who are to be regarded as the shareholders of this cooperative.

“The cooperative currently operates as a small Retail Consumer shop, and is to be regarded as the business arm for the Mwebalehan community in Port Vila,” said Mr. Vireibo.

The cooperative will function similarly to other cooperatives, but the only difference is that the Chiefs within the Association has declared it to be owned by the 14 nakamals as mentioned above, and not individuals. Therefore, during shopping, the customers who are member of the Mwebalehan community, have to let the shopkeeper know of which nakamal they are from, and this will be recorded to ensure transparent distribution of dividend in the future to each of the nakamals.

“This idea aims to strengthen ties between the community members living in Port Vila to work together, as nakamal in Pentecost is known to bring people together, symbolising unity,” the President further stated.

With the establishment of this cooperative, Mr. Vireibo mentioned that it will open the door to employment opportunities for the Mwebalehan Youths in Port Vila, keeping them away and free from the social issues and problems that are rapidly increasing in town.

Another goal for the establishment of this cooperative, as relayed by the President, is to help promote local farmers from CP2, by selling their produce at the cooperative, such as taro, kava, handicraft, and beef.

He relayed that the idea of setting up this cooperative was a challenging one as people often perceive town to be full of shops owned by foreigners, and of course people will prefer shops that are cheaper.

“However, it’s about time we change that mentality, and encourage establishment of locally owned shops and cooperatives in town,” he remarked.

Speaking to the Vanuatu Daily Post on behalf of the Mwebalehan committee, Mr. Vireibo encourages other communities to also develop initiatives such as this.

“We believe that through cooperative, our communities will prosper, and it will also contribute in the long run, by reducing social inequalities, increasing social capital, and boosting our progress towards sustainable development,” he concluded.

The Mwebalehan Association, an organisation founded in 1991 to support the CP2 community residing in Port Vila.

Mwebalehan in the local dialect for Central Pentecost means “togetherness or doing something together,” as revealed by the President.