How the South American nation turned co-operation into a curriculum; and what we can learn from it
Argentina is one of the most co-operative-minded countries in South America. But what truly sets it apart is not the number of co-ops it has built in response to economic crises, it is how deliberately it has woven co-operation into the fabric of formal education.
Since 1946, national legislation has required the teaching of co-operativism and mandated the creation of ‘cooperativas escolares’ – school co-operatives – across the country. These are not fringe clubs or extracurricular additions, but they are pedagogical tools, embedded across subjects, recognised by the state, and run, genuinely run, by students.
How they work
A school co-operative can engage in almost anything: food production, recycling, technology, media, community commerce. What matters is not the product but the process. Students elect boards, manage finances, hold assemblies, and make decisions by vote. Teachers serve as advisors, not directors. The explicit goal is not profit or vocational training, it is the formation of democratic citizens.
Membership is voluntary, with a minimum of nine students needed to establish a co-operative. Students as young as ten can serve on the board. In Buenos Aires Province, a dedicated state body — the Directorate of Cooperation and Community Participation — registers, monitors, and supports school co-operatives, reflecting how institutionally embedded the model has become.
Eva Fernández, deputy director of community participation in Buenos Aires Province’s Culture and Education Department, describes the reach of co-operative culture beyond the classroom: “I go to towns in the interior of the province where, if the neighbours hadn’t organised themselves to create a co-operative, that community wouldn’t have electricity or access to water.”
In schools, she says, the value is equally concrete: “In organising themselves, distributing roles, managing resources and planning projects, students practise solidarity and teamwork, and not only do they address technical content, but curricular content too. But what interests us most is that they connect with others through concrete action.”
The principle underpinning it all is simple: one member, one vote. Regardless of capital contributed, position held, or seniority, every student member is equal. This is not just a rule; it is the lesson.
“One headteacher told me, ‘This boy faced a lot of challenges, but thanks to implementing this project, he now participates and wants to come to school for more hours,'” Fernández recounts. “A student who may have felt apathetic, who didn’t feel enthusiastic about school, finds through the co-operative a place to feel part of, to feel happy; able to learn through practice.'”
One school co-operative built benches from recycled plastic bottles. Another ran a healthy tuck shop every Friday, after surveying fellow pupils on what they would like to eat. One group made outdoor playground equipment for their school yard. Others produced pizza bases and baked goods for sale. Some tackled infrastructure — installing wheelchair-accessible ramps on public streets — while others explored renewable energy production.
These projects are student-led, community-facing, and curriculum-linked.
Kenya has a well-established co-operative movement — one of the strongest on the continent — anchored in SACCOs, agricultural co-ops, and community savings groups. Yet this culture has rarely been translated into the classroom in any structured, national way.
Argentina’s experience suggests that embedding co-operative education early, and making it experiential rather than theoretical, produces something schools often struggle to manufacture: genuine student ownership of learning.
The timing is also right. Kenya’s Competency-Based Education places emphasis on values, collaboration, and real-world application. A school co-operatives framework would align naturally with CBE’s philosophy, while also building financial literacy, civic participation, and entrepreneurial thinking — all from within the school gates.
The infrastructure already exists. Kenya’s co-operative sector has legal frameworks, training institutions, and a Ministry with the mandate to promote co-operative development. What is missing is the bridge into schools.
Argentina took 80 years to get here. Kenya does not need to. The model is documented.
