The main purpose of my research stay in Andalusia in 1984 and 1985 was not actually to study the living conditions of agricultural workers. I had gone there to investigate the self-help organizations, specifically the productive cooperatives of this region, as indicated by the title of our project "Self-Help Organizations to Alleviate Rural Unemployment in Andalusia." The agricultural workers were primarily affected by unemployment, mostly living on unemployment benefits and a few odd jobs; they also made up the majority of the members of the cooperatives in various economic sectors. However, the formation of cooperatives was by no means the only thing they undertook to free themselves from their difficult situation.