ABSTRACT
The cooperative character of the party is reflected also in the lack of leadership and direction of the labour activities of its members. Payment for minga labour is in the form of a meal before and after the working day, a small package of cooked food given to take home, three balls of coca and sufficient drink to quench thirst during the day. The cost of a minga varies with the resources of the head of the household, but he is expected to be generous with food. The minga is the preferred type of labour arrangement and the only one in which friends and neighbours are most easily persuaded to participate. It is a system reserved for certain tasks; mostly it is used for the clearing and weeding of fields, and the weeding of coffee plantations. Exchange labour is resorted to when the help of one or two individuals is required and when the return is feasible and convenient.
