The Co-operative is not a formally registered organization, like the South African Hoodia Growers Association. We are just a group of friends and relatives from an ethnic group that lived for many generations in the upper section of the Limpopo River basin. Our traditional territory is now in three different countries - South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, the center being at the conjunction of Shashe and Limpopo rivers. The colonial powers that divided Africa into the current political units did not take into consideration the traditional owners of the lands and territories. Thus you can have a situation, where the members of one extended family can live in a territory occupied by their tribe for centuries and recognized by the neighbouring tribes as the rightful owners of that land, but international borders make them citizens of three different countries. Such situation creates many problems, but there are some advantages to it. In our case we can center some of our activities in the country that is most favourable for them, while other activities can take place in other countries. 

Most of us live in Zimbabwe, a country with the lowest life expectancy.  Our relatives in South Africa can do things for our Co-op, that are impossible in Zimbabwe either because of international sanctions, or because of domestic laws and regulations. Zimbabwean currency has the highest inflations in the world, which doesn't help any trader.  Botswana is a better place for doing international business than Zimbabwe, but doesn't have the infrastructure of South Africa. Foreign Currency regulations in all three countries make it quite difficult for us to engage in commerce with the outside world. For instance - Zimbabwean citizens cannot register a corporation in USA, or open a bank account in USA. Western Union doesn't have branches in South Africa or Zimbabwe and you can send money through them only to Botswana and it has to be in local currency - Botswana Pulla.  Paypal can be used to send money to Botswana and South Africa but not to Zimbabwe, and it cannot be used to send money to other countries.

Fortunately for us, our distributors overseas are willing to help us. Thus we have a distributor in USA, who was happy to register a corporation for us in USA, open a Wells Fargo bank account and hook it up with paypal, which enables us to accept not only Paypal payments from anybody in the world, but also credit cards (processed by Paypal and you don't have to be signed up with Paypal for a Credit Card payment), direct deposits into that account through any branch of Wells Fargo bank, or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) if you are able to do internet banking.

We are already supplying many individuals and small companies in numerous countries.  We are discussing the possibilities of a distribution / shipping centres in several centres of commerce.  We have an agreement with a shipping agent in Australia. (For more details, see page "Australian Customers"). Such arrangements are very practical for us: we can send a relatively large shipment to the shipping centre and do all the permits and paperwork just once. Once in the country, the small units ordered from within that country can be sent without any need for further permits. And the postage is also much cheaper.

We wanted to establish shipping centres in the European Union, but then we found out the most unbelievable bureaucratic obstacles.  They require the following 10 documents to allow importation of Hoodia into the European Union:

1. Certificate of Manufacturer;
2. Certificate of Analysis:
      2.1. HPLC(for Identity and Purity);
      2.2. Macroscopy and Microscopy analysis;
      2.3. Thin-Layer Chromatography analysis;
      2.4. for Chemical and Physical control;
      2.5. for Microbiology control;
3. Permit for export/Certificate(licence) of Free Sale;
4. Certificate of Origin;
5. Phytosanitary Certificate.

To comply with all the regulations, we would need an army of administrative workers.  We are simple village people, farming a few plants and selling them the way we've done for generations - in a farmers' market or at a roadside.  All the trading is based on the old-fasioned mutual trust.  We don't use here an army of lawyers to draw contracts the thicknes of a bible to sell a box of matches.