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Coffee Tree Hotel     About Coffee Tree Hotel Coffee Tree Hotel provides a sanctuary for travelers who are looking for an effortless, comfortable and memorable stay in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. With its superb locations and spacious facilities, Coffee Tree Hotel offers a unique, personalized experience that ensures our guests feel welcome and pampered, making them ideal choices for both business and leisure travelers. Coffee Tree Hotel provides an ideal setting for private or business meetings as well as conferences and special events in the hotel’s various multifunctional areas. A Tanzanian style based on the love of true African hospitality, culture, cuisine, tradition and well-being. Accommodation The Coffee Tree Hotel provides 58 spacious appointed rooms, each of which has been designed to make your stay as comfortable as possible. These include 10 Executive Rooms, 14 Deluxe Rooms, and 34 Standard Rooms characterized by the shades of the wooden furniture, guaranteeing all comforts to our guests without forgetting the warm hospitality offered. Executive Rooms are well equipped with an array of contemporary amenities to make your stay comfortable. These include: Television  Closets Writing tables Comfortable Sofa Fan Laundry Facilities Room Services Restaurant Our Restaurant is a perfect place to meet as a meeting venue or just to enjoy a refreshing drink during the day.  Coffee Tree Hotel guests enjoy superb cuisine, attentive service and cultural surroundings when dining at the Restaurant, while viewing the spectacular scenery of Mount Kilimanjaro when the sky isn’t shy. The Coffee Tree Bar is located adjacent to the restaurant, serving a variety of beverages and freshly squeezed fruit juices. It is a great place to meet, unwind and look forward to an evening of relaxation. Conference facilities The Coffee Tree Hotel has an ability to tailor conferences and events to your exact requirements. From intimate groups to exclusive use options for larger conferences, the dedicated onsite conference team will ensure the success of your event. Fully air conditioned conference room is available to host conferences, events and banquets for up to 70 people. The conference room offers a variety of sizes and configurations tailored to your needs. The room has abundant natural light and our friendly and very efficient team is dedicated to providing the highest standard of service every time. With its well-situated location, beautiful accommodation, state of the art conference rooms, The Coffee Tree Hotel is guaranteed to give your delegates a truly unique experience. Facilities & Services include: Data Projectors White Boards and Flipcharts Dedicated Conference Team Hire of Conference Venue Tshs. 150,000 for Banqueting Hall Tshs. 100,000 for Board Room We also serve: Two tea/coffee breaks with snacks Lunch with water or soda Mineral water in conference room Stationery (writing pads and pens) Flip chart and markers Conference Room details Hall capacities and sitting arrangements   Banqueting Hall U-Shape 40 Classroom 65 Theatre 50 Boardroom 28 For more information about scheduling a meeting, conference or any other event at Coffee Tree Hotel, please send us an email on cth@kncutanzania.com, for a tailor made group proposal or for further details.

Mexican credit unions increasr profit by fith

Credit and saving co-operatives in Mexico increased profit by over a fifth in 2012.
According to a report published by the National Savings and Values Commission (CNBV), the net profit of the sector increased by 22.8 per cent from MXN 741 million in December 2011 to MXN 909m in December 2012.
The credit portfolio reached a total of MXN 41,664m in December 2012, which represented a reduction of 0.4 per cent compared to the previous year. The regulatory body also said the result was reached by lowering reserves from 1,560m to 1,286m. This enabled co-operatives to compensate for the reduction of net commission income and the increase of administrative and promotional spending.
Assets of the credit and saving co-operatives were worth MXN 61,630m, which represented an increase of 8.5 per cent from the previous year and is partly due to having six more active co-operatives operating between December 2011 and December 2012.
Mexico, a country with 10,000 co-operatives in which 10 million people participate, has six million credit union members. There are currently 69 authorised societies operating as credit and saving co-operatives, which is six more than in 2011.
Caja Popular Mexicana, the biggest credit and saving co-operative in Mexico and Latin America, ended 2012 with 432 branches and 1,736,000 members. Every year the million members of Caja Popular Mexicana participate in General Assemblies at local, regional and national levels.

World Co-operative Monitor

Co-operatives are being asked to help build a statistical picture of the entire global movement.

The International Co-operative Alliance has re-launched the second survey for its World Co-operative Monitor in association with research institute Euricse.

An aim of the Monitor is to develop a database reporting on the socio-economic value and impact of co-operatives from their trading area to a global perspective.

Earlier this year, the ICA and Euricse extended its partnership, which includes developing stories.coop into a multi-lingual platform, and collecting data on new indicators for the Monitor, such as employment figures.

Last year’s Monitor revealed the world’s top 300 co-operatives have a turnover of USD 2 trillion, which measured the social impact and turnover of co-operative enterprises.

The 2012 report consisted of 2,192 co-operatives across 61 countries, but the ICA is hoping for a larger take-up with the revised survey.

Charles Gould, Director-General of the ICA, encouraged all co-operatives to take part in the research project: “The World Co-operative Monitor provides a great message for the general public: there is a way to pursue sustainable business and at scale.

“In order to improve the comprehensiveness of the database the contribution of every single co-operative is essential, regardless of their size and turnover.”

The World Co-operative Monitor Steering Committee, composed of internationally recognised researchers and practitioners, will meet at the beginning of May in Jakarta, on a trip hosted by the Indonesian Government’s State Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, to discuss and further validate the methodology and give additional scientific strength to the entire project. 

Gianluca Salvatori, CEO of Euricse, added: “The idea behind this project is to define a new process of data collection, integration, and analysis, culminating in the creation of a regularly updated database containing economic data, but also other social dimensions, to monitor and demonstrate not only the economic, but also the social impact of co-operatives worldwide.”

• To participate, visit www.monitor.coop to complete the online questionnaire, which takes less than 30 minutes to finish. The results will be presented at the ICA Global Conference and General Assembly in Cape Town in November.

European Commission backs cooperatives for farmers

The European Commission is encouraging farmers to form themselves into co-operatives.
A report has been launched by the Commission to provide farmers with the knowledge of organising into co-operatives; and it also summarised the current level of co-operative development across the 27 EU member states. The report takes into account various aspects such as: economic and fiscal incentives, the relationship between co-operatives and other entities active in the food chain, or the internal governance of co-operatives.
According to the document, there are three main factors that determine the success of co-operatives in food chains: the position in the food chain, internal governance and the institutional environment.
The report reads: “Farmers’ co-operatives play an important role in helping farmers to capture a higher share of the value added in the food supply chain in all Member States.
“As agrifood supply chains are generally characterised by bargaining imbalances between farmers and their upstream and downstream partners, co-operatives play a key role in strengthening bargaining power and thus maximizing their members’ share of the value added.”
According to the same report, co-operatives are also reducing market risks and transaction costs, providing access to resources, and strengthening their competitive position by guaranteeing food quality and safety.
The study also shows that a large market share for co-operatives in a particular sector and country can increase the price level and reduce the price volatility. This is currently the case with the dairy sector.
Concerns are also raised over a lack of coherence between the agricultural policy that promotes building under the Common Market Organisation and competition policy that seems to prohibit sharing and other forms of collaboration.
Furthermore, although most national laws provide sufficient flexibility for co-operatives to choose an internal governance model that fits their strategies, such flexibility may not always be accompanied by the appropriate guidance.
Co-operatives benefit from flexible co-operative law, single taxation, and clearly defined competition rules. According to the report, co-ops are also important employers and contributors to the regional economy.
The report reveals that the situation in the new member states is diverse and contrasting due to differences in historical backgrounds, co-operative traditions or social and cultural contexts. However, all cases have in common that the impact of the communist legacy persists, as low trust is an obstacle to co-operative development.
The study was carried out between 2011-2012 by a European research consortium, but contributions have also been made by national co-operative experts in all of the 27 member states of the EU.
Photo: European farmers and agri-co-operatives debating the European Commission's proposal to reform the Common Agricultural Policy, Brussels, 6 February 2013.

International Year has opened doors for cooperatives

Confidence, inspiration and enthusiasm were a few of the words used to describe what the International Year of Co-operatives has meant to Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance.
Dame Pauline said the Movement has been inspired, and cited examples of the Co-operative Movement in Rwanda, which has gone from zero to making up eight per cent of the country’s GDP in less than ten years, and India's success which is home to the AMUL dairy co-operative owned by over three million dairy producers.
Among Dame Pauline's highlights of the year included speaking at the launch of the IYC at the UN General Assembly in New York, the International Summit of Co-operatives in Quebec, Canada and the Co-operatives United conference in Manchester, UK, which attracted over 10,000 visitors.
She said Co-operatives United “was about demonstrating the businesses owned and controlled by ordinary folk. It was about the value and importance of that democratic ownership and about the social environment in which our co-ops operate.”
Through the International Year, doors have been opened for co-operatives that it has never had before, she added.
Co-ops had the opportunity to meet with the Obama administration in the White House, and work with UN organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and the IMF.
“One of the key objectives of the IYC was to get governments to look at their legislation on co-ops and to make sure their legislation is fit for purpose in the 21^st century, to make sure they have enabling legislation not prescriptive legislation;” she explained.
In countries such as the UK, Malaysia, Kenya, Indonesia – under law they cannot have a co-operative bank. “In most cases this is just an accident of history, but what the UN is saying is get rid of these accidents, because in any business sector where you can make a good sound case for a co-op business then that sector should be open to co-ops;” Dame Pauline added.
“We need to continue the discussions to fruition and not in memorandums of understanding or action plans but in some real deep rooted practical grassroots support that can show what we can do, because once you’ve built one exemplar co-op organisation, others will follow,” she continued.
The Co-operative Movement “can support the real economy a grassroots level” she explained and the benefits through co-operation, particularly in developing countries, of growth and prosperity will not end up in the hands of the “predator states” or multinational businesses”.
Dame Pauline said that her personal highlight of the year was speaking at the opening of the IYC, which she described as an “unbelievable experience".
From Ushirika Huru, we are very sorry for  not being able to capture the pictures in video record! 

Leaders of ILO and ICA Strengthen Bond

ICA President Dame Pauline Green recently celebrated the relationship with the International Labour Organization by meeting with its new Director General Guy Ryder.
As the International Year of Co-operatives came to a close, Mr Ryder, who started his five-year term in October, discussed a number of issues with Dame Pauline including youth in co-operatives; the financial crisis and rural employment.
The ILO has been working on how co-operatives can help to alleviate youth unemployment, and it is also considering integrating co-operative education in its existing business development training packages, which targets youth. During the ILO's International Labour Conference in 2012, the discussions around youth employment emphasised the potential of co-operatives nd the conclusions highlighted the need for encouraging membership of youth in existing co-operatives, and establishing sustainable youth co-operatives.

In the context of the financial crisis, business transitions to worker owned enterprises are gaining momentum around a number of countries in Europe. Governments like that of France are promoting co-operatives as an option with failing businesses to save jobs during such business transitions. To build on this, the ILO and ICA are working towards strengthening alliances between trade unions and co-operatives and in supporting the revitalisation of worker co-operatives through the elaboration and implementation of a joint training package on establishing and strengthening worker co-operatives. 

Finally, focusing on rural employment – the ILO’s CoopAfrica project, My.COOP, is an agricultural co-operative training tool developed with the Food and Agriculture Organization and international NGOs. My.COOP is being translated and adapted for people worldwide.
Simel Esim, the Chief of the Co-operative Branch of the ILO, said: “Strengthened collaboration between the ILO and ICA can contribute to the advancement of areas of critical importance such as crisis response, jobs and skills for youth, decent work in the rural and informal economies as well as development of a sound statistical base and evidence-based policy analysis on issues related to the world of work.”
The two organisations have worked together to promote co-operation since ILO began in 1919, and partnered up in 2004 to work on the UN Millennium Development Goals. The first Director General of the ILO, Albert Thomas, was a French co-operator and a member of the Central Committee of the International Co-operative Alliance. He once said: “I am a co-operator and, as such, I have the greatest and fullest confidence in the virtue and efficacy of the co-operative spirit.”

India's President praises cooperative sector

India's President has called on the country's states to update co-operative legislation for a sector that has ensured economic "growth".
Pranab Mukherjee praised the "effective" co-operative business model at the National Co-operative Development Corporation's (NCDC) Co-operative Excellence awards ceremony in New Delhi. He said: “With a network of six lakh [600,000] co-operatives and a membership base of 24 crore [240 million], the Indian Co-operative Movement has proved to be an effective economic instrument for ensuring growth with equity and inclusiveness.
"The co-operatives in our country face many challenges and problems. Their performance across sector, activities and regions is variable. They need to re-orient by improving their efficiency and have to develop themselves professionally to meet requirement of their core clientele."
During the ceremony, in which the President presented awards to 27 co-operatives, he said he hoped the awards would inspire other co-ops to perform better and said that co-ops are pivotal institutions for bringing socio-economic development for inclusive growth in rural areas.
“Co-operatives in India have made a visible and significant contribution to the overall economic growth of our economy. This is especially so in the sectors of agricultural credit, sugar, dairy, textiles, fisheries, distribution of fertilizers and agricultural inputs, storage and marketing," said the President.
He added that state laws need to be amended in line with central legislation to ensure the country's 600,000 co-operatives work as autonomous, self-reliant and democratic bodies.
Among the attendees at the awards ceremony were Union Agriculture and Food Processing Minister Sharad Pawar, Minister of State Charan Das Mahant, and Managing Director of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) C.B. Paliwal.
The President also noted the creation of AMUL; a dairy co-operative with over three million members, in 1946 was one of the most important moments in India’s co-operative history.
He said: “The Co-op Movement helped our founding fathers who gave it a pride place in the process of economic development on our country... The whole future of India depends on the success of this approach of ours.”
The awards ceremony has been held every two years since 2002. The NCDC was set up under an act of Parliament in 1963 to help co-ops, it celebrated its golden jubilee in 2012