Do you often lose things?

7.1 

 

The Women of Ayoquezo 

In the south of Mexico, the small town of Ayoquezco has always been a farming community. 

For years, the main crop was tobacco. Most people worked in the fields or in the tobacco 

factory.  

Then, in 1979 the factory closed. There were no jobs. A lot of the men from the village had 

to move away to find work and the women of Ayoquezco had to earn money, but how?  

They knew that one plant, a type of cactus called “prickly pear”, grew really well in the fields 

of Ayoquezco. The leaves of prickly pear are delicious. In Mexico, people often add them to 

salads and soups, or eat them with eggs.  

One woman, Catalina Sanchez, organized a meeting. If they didn't find work soon, their 

families would suffer. The women decided to start a business, selling prickly pear. If they all 

worked together as a cooperative, they could have a successful business. They would each 

own a part of that business. They worked as a group to grow the cactus and together, they 

built a factory.  

They had meetings and voted on how to do things.  

Today, the business is doing incredibly well. The women work together to prepare the 

cactus leaves. A man from the government comes to inspect their factory. Their products 

are certified organic.  

The cooperative now sells their products in Mexico and the US. What a marvellous success!