Individual,organizational, and societal empowerment: A study of the processes in a Nicaraguan agricultural cooperative

Defined and examined the personal (material and psychological), organizational, and societal goals of empowerment. This exploration of empowerment was primarily based on 7 months of participant observation in an agricultural cooperative in Nicaragua in 1989. The research focused on the perspectives of the participants, internal program functioning, and relations to local organizations and the national context. This study shows that some factors in the cooperative setting enhanced empowerment at each level, while others impeded its development. The cooperative met immediate needs, and provided social status and a degree of autonomy in society. Its structure allowed for broad participating in decision making and control. “Sense-making” and informal consciousness-raising processes facilitated psychological empowerment. These processes were hidden in apparent disorganization and thus not recognized by local service providers. Fears of speaking in meetings and the reluctance to face crises were intense and influential. Opinions and behavior of outsiders and the environmental context, although seemingly helpful, also had detrimental effects. Parallels are drawn to empowerment theory and findings from other populations. This article is based on the author's unpublished dissertation in Social Psychology at the Claremont Graduate School. The name of the cooperative was not disclosed to protect the members. The author thanks Douglas Perkins for his helpful support and valuable comments on earlier drafts.