The primary purpose of this trip was to learn about the cooperative and sustainability models in Spain. Mondragon, Spain’s largest cooperative located in the Basque Country, is the perfect example of the community-oriented society. Between the sights seeing days, we met with different companies within Spain to learn how cooperative companies compete in the global market. Edertek, a tech company with in the automotive sector, tells us that in order for them to be competitive, they need to produce the highest quality products at all times. The quality control system examines every aspect of the products, ensuring the client receives exactly what they need to fit their needs. Del Valle Aguayo, a renewable energy business, explained to us that they are able to stay competitive by keeping their staffing very low, where four people manage the majority of the work, with third-party contracted employees handling the excess work. Finally, the Department of Citizen Participation in the City of Vitoria explains that citizen engagement is vital for the success of the city. They encourage residents to get involved in the community at a very young age, so they are prepared when they are of age to vote and have a voice in the city. It is apparent that culture of Spain is deeply rooted in the community bases business practices, which brings us to wonder the application capabilities for us in the states. Other businesses we visited were Mondragon University and LaKutxa Ban.
