Member Contributions · 5 Members · 28 Days
5 members. 28 days. One proof.
Individually — noise.
Collectively — evidence.
This is what the bank needs to see.
MetriqOne Cooperative.
Individual members
Collective average
StableCollective signal
5Members
28 wksof evidence
Metriq.One · CooperativeDoes it matter? — Measure it‼️
Demo Stack · Cooperative
How a Cooperative Makes a Difference — and How to Know If It Is Working
A plain language deployment guide for a production or savings cooperative. Fill in the MCA section for your own cooperative. The stacked node architecture and all 27 indicators are already built in. Works without electricity or internet. Everything is collected on paper.
The Idea
When a farmer sells alone, the buyer sets the price. The farmer takes it or leaves it. The margin goes to the middleman. When farmers sell together through a cooperative, the volume is bigger, the quality can be guaranteed, and transport to a better market becomes possible. The price improves. The margin stays in the community.
1
Member brings produce to the cooperativeQuality is checked. Volume is recorded. Member's delivery is logged.
2
Cooperative handles quality and storageProduce is graded, stored correctly, and prepared for market.
3
Cooperative arranges transport to the best available marketVolume makes transport viable. Better market means better price.
4
Cooperative sells at a better price than a member could get aloneThe margin difference is the whole point. It must be recorded every period.
5
Cash is returned to the memberMore than they would have received selling alone. On time. Traceable.
6
Member reinvests in the next cycle. Community cashflow grows.This only works if the cooperative is actually delivering — and only measurement confirms that.
Many cooperatives look right on paper and fail quietly in practice. Members stop bringing produce. Cash stops returning. The cooperative hollows out — and nobody saw it coming because nobody was measuring. This stack exists to see it coming.
MCA — Context (Fill in for your cooperative)
Fill in this section once, at the start of deployment. This is not a report — it is the foundation that makes every measurement meaningful. Do not use geographic names or the names of specific organisations.
| What the cooperative does | Collects produce from members, handles quality checking and storage, arranges transport to market, returns cash to members after costs are deducted. |
| Who is involved | Members who produce and deliver. A treasurer who manages the cash. A coordinator who handles transport and market relationships. A council that makes decisions. |
| What conditions it operates in | Road conditions, transport availability, distance to nearest market, storage facility condition, weather patterns that affect harvest timing. |
| What resources it has | Storage space, transport access, cash reserves, number of active members, equipment available for quality checking. |
| What has gone wrong before | Members selling outside the cooperative when prices seemed better elsewhere. Transport failures during harvest. Cash not returned on time. Members leaving because they did not see the benefit. |
| The main challenge right now | State as an observable condition — something you can see and measure — not as a feeling or a complaint. |
| What the cooperative is working toward | A direction that connects to one of the three survival questions below. Not a wish — a measurable improvement condition. |
The Stack — 3 CSI · 9 Modules · 27 PI · 3 CRI
VISION
Every member who brings produce to the cooperative receives more cash in return than they would earn selling alone — consistently, traceably, every period.
PI
What to count
How to collect it
CSI-1
Stability
Can we pay our costs and return money to members — every period, not just in a good season?
If the cash is not coming back to members consistently, they will start selling elsewhere. The cooperative loses volume. Quality drops. The market relationship weakens. Collapse follows slowly, then suddenly.
MOD-1.1
Cash In and Out
Is more money coming in than going out?
PI-1.1.1
Amount paid to members this period vs. amount paid last period — is it going up or down?
Payment register — treasurer records each member payment on the day it is made
PI-1.1.2
Number of days between paying for transport and storage, and receiving payment from the buyer
Coordinator log — date of expense and date of buyer payment both recorded
PI-1.1.3
Total operating costs this period as a share of total income — what percentage goes to running costs before members are paid?
Treasurer records — costs and income both logged per period
MOD-1.2
What We Sell and Who Buys It
Are we reaching a market that pays a fair price?
PI-1.2.1
Price received per unit through the cooperative vs. the price a member would have received selling alone
Market price log — coordinator records cooperative sale price and local individual sale price each period
PI-1.2.2
Number of different buyers who purchased from the cooperative this period
Sales register — buyer name and volume recorded per transaction
PI-1.2.3
Volume of produce that arrived at the cooperative but was not sold this period — how much sat unsold?
Storage log — volume received vs. volume sold recorded by coordinator
MOD-1.3
Member Contributions and Returns
Are members bringing produce and receiving payment on time?
PI-1.3.1
Number of members who delivered produce this period vs. number who were active last period
Delivery register — member name and volume recorded on each delivery
PI-1.3.2
Average number of days between a member delivering produce and receiving their payment
Payment log — delivery date and payment date both recorded per member
PI-1.3.3
Number of members who have not delivered produce for two or more consecutive periods
Delivery register — coordinator checks each period for inactive members
CRI-1
Are members receiving more per unit through the cooperative than they would selling alone — and is that margin growing or shrinking?
CSI-2
Safety
When something goes wrong — transport fails, a buyer pulls out, a key person is sick — can we keep operating?
A cooperative with no backup plan is one bad week away from failing its members at the worst possible moment — harvest time. The question is not whether something will go wrong. It will. The question is whether the cooperative survives it.
MOD-2.1
Keeping Operations Running
What happens when transport fails or a key person is unavailable?
PI-2.1.1
Number of days this period when produce could not be moved to market due to transport failure or unavailability
Coordinator log — disruption date and reason recorded on the day
PI-2.1.2
Number of working days lost this period due to equipment or storage problems
Facility log — problem reported and resolved dates both recorded
PI-2.1.3
Number of people who can perform each key role if the usual person is unavailable
Coordinator record — maintained list of trained backup people per function
MOD-2.2
Supply — What Members Bring In
Is the flow of produce consistent enough to maintain market relationships?
PI-2.2.1
Total volume of produce received from members this period vs. the volume committed to buyers
Delivery register vs. buyer agreement — coordinator compares each period
PI-2.2.2
Number of members whose produce was rejected for quality reasons this period
Quality check log — coordinator records rejections and reason on the day
PI-2.2.3
Number of alternative buyers available if the primary buyer reduces their order or stops purchasing
Coordinator record — confirmed alternative buyer contacts maintained and updated
MOD-2.3
Reserves and Readiness
Does the cooperative have enough set aside to survive a bad period?
PI-2.3.1
Number of weeks the cooperative could cover its basic operating costs if no income came in this period
Treasurer record — cash reserve divided by average weekly operating cost
PI-2.3.2
Number of times this period the cooperative had to delay a member payment because cash was not available
Payment log — delayed payments flagged and dated by treasurer
PI-2.3.3
Number of input suppliers available as backup if the primary supplier cannot deliver
Coordinator record — confirmed alternative supplier contacts maintained
CRI-2
Can the cooperative absorb a disruption and still get produce to market and cash back to members within the normal period?
CSI-3
Continuity
Are members still bringing their produce in — and do they still trust the cooperative to handle it fairly?
A cooperative that members stop trusting does not announce its failure. Members quietly start selling elsewhere. Volume drops. The cooperative loses its market position. By the time it is obvious, recovery is very difficult.
MOD-3.1
Members Staying and Participating
Are members choosing to stay?
PI-3.1.1
Number of members who delivered produce this season who also delivered last season — are the same people coming back?
Delivery register — coordinator checks returning vs. new vs. lapsed members each season
PI-3.1.2
Number of members who attended the last general meeting vs. total active members
Meeting attendance sheet — signed by members on arrival
PI-3.1.3
Number of new members who joined this period because they saw the benefit to existing members
Membership register — reason for joining recorded at enrolment
MOD-3.2
Decisions Being Made and Followed Through
When the council decides something, does it actually happen?
PI-3.2.1
Number of decisions made by the council this period that have been carried out vs. total decisions made
Decision register — coordinator records decision date and implementation date
PI-3.2.2
Number of decisions from previous periods that remain unimplemented without a recorded reason
Decision register — open items reviewed each council meeting
PI-3.2.3
Number of member complaints or disputes that were resolved within the agreed timeframe this period
Complaints log — complaint date, resolution date, and outcome recorded by coordinator
MOD-3.3
Governance — Rules Being Kept
Is the cooperative being run the way members agreed?
PI-3.3.1
Number of required governance meetings held on the scheduled date this period vs. number that should have been held
Meeting register — date held and attendance recorded each meeting
PI-3.3.2
Number of members who say they understand how the cooperative calculates what it pays them
Show-of-hands count at each general meeting — recorded in meeting minutes
PI-3.3.3
Number of times this period a financial record was requested by a member and could not be produced
Treasurer log — records requests and whether document was provided
CRI-3
Are the same members coming back each season, and are new members joining because they see the benefit?
No Electricity. No Internet. No Problem.
Every number in this system can be collected by the person closest to the evidence, recorded on paper, and submitted when a connection is available. The measurement works because the discipline is in the form — not in the technology.
| Paper Instrument | What it records | Who fills it and when |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery Register | Member name, produce volume, quality result, date of delivery | Coordinator — on the day of each delivery |
| Payment Register | Member name, amount paid, date paid, period covered | Treasurer — on the day each payment is made |
| Market Price Log | Cooperative sale price per unit, local individual sale price, buyer name | Coordinator — after each market sale |
| Coordinator Log | Transport arrangements, disruptions, reasons for delays or cancellations | Coordinator — daily during active periods |
| Meeting Register | Date, attendance, decisions made, actions assigned | Secretary or coordinator — during each meeting |
| Complaints Log | Member name, issue raised, date, action taken, resolution date | Coordinator — as complaints are received |
| Cash Reserve Record | Opening balance, income received, costs paid, closing balance | Treasurer — updated each period |
When You Present This — What to Say
1
The cooperative exists to put more money in members' pockets.
Everything in this system measures whether that is actually happening — not whether the cooperative is busy, not whether meetings are being held, not whether reports are being filed. The one question is: are members earning more because of the cooperative than they would earn without it?
2
A cooperative that cannot show this is running on trust alone.
Trust runs out. When it does, members leave quietly — they do not announce it. They just start selling elsewhere. By the time the volume drop is visible, the damage is already done. Measurement catches it early.
3
These numbers do not blame anyone.
When produce cannot reach the market because the road flooded, that is recorded as a disruption condition — not a failure of the coordinator. When a member stops delivering, the record shows it — and the follow-up is a conversation, not a punishment.
4
Every number can be collected today — with paper and a pen.
No software. No smartphone required. No internet connection needed at the moment of recording. The form is the system. The person closest to the evidence is the one who records it.
5
This is what an LGU, a federation, or a development agency actually needs to see.
Not a story. Not a photograph. Not a summary of activities. A traceable record showing whether member income is improving, whether the cooperative is resilient, and whether members are still choosing to participate. That is a case for continued support — built on evidence, not goodwill.