Moveiamento Cooperativo Economica Agricultura is the cooperative organisation that employs my wife Dorothy Culloty on her NZ VSA assignment. I was asked to accompany an English photographer Tom Greenwood on a four day trip to document the work of the member co-ops.

We visited four cooperatives. The first three coffee farmers co-ops in Maubisse district and Ermera District, the last one a rice farmer co-op in Maliana District. It took altogether 5 days, since roads outside Dili are very difficult to navigate, and we lost a day due to vehicle breakdown. The state of the roads is rather taxing on vehicles, even sturdy 4x4 trucks.

MCEA assists the cooperatives by providing training in new techniques, which can lead to better crops, marketing and material support in terms of tools. MCEA has been supported over the last few years by New Zealand Oxfam.