Generational characterization of the Salinerito company of Guaranda

Abstract

Salinas, a rural parish in the Guaranda Canton of the Province of Bolívar in Ecuador, has become an organizational reference for cooperative production and development or solidarity, due to a series of generational events that significantly marked its progress. This study, developed under the qualitative approach and fieldwork, characterizes the factors that stimulated social and productive development of the community through the investigation of three generations: the pioneers, currently not directly linked to the administration of the organization; the intermediate generation, which now manages the local businesses; and the third generation, which is the one that will take the reins of the organizations in the future. The aspects analyzed include the collective imagery of the three generations, the level of support from people outside the community, the activities in each generation, from the working in coo- peratives, through the development and training in organization and production technologies for milk derivatives, to the launching of products into national and international markets. Organizational evolu- tion was studied from perspective of solidarity and cooperation with a business focus. Theoretical bases of social capital were used and it was sought to characterize the three generations; the final result was to approximate the conditions that determined their ways of thinking and acting. The conclusion is that the factors that strengthened the productive development of Salinerito, focused on the social capital of their generations, rooted in organization and community.