Historical Highlights
Prehistoric and Roman Settlement
First settlement after ice –age in Simmental and Morgeten area was by Celtic and Celtic-roman settlers. It's possible to derive from local field – and mountain names. The first primitive manufacturing of cheese in this mountain region started more than a thousand years ago. First written sources about cheese manufacturing in Swiss mountains are written in roman chronics.
Alemanian settlement
In the end of the fifth and in the beginning of the sixth century there was a large migration from northern Europe . In this time, Alemanic ethnics came to the Swiss mountain regions. These people brought the alemanian common law.
Alemanian Common Law
In alemanian village –communities early farmers and cattle-breeders had the so called “three field agriculture” with common and private ground. Of interest in context with traditional alp cooperative is the organisation and use of common ground.
Common Ground and Ownership
Every house of community members had a fire-place right. This fire- place right was, and is the base of co-use of common ground.
Explotation
Traditional was the using of fields and wood. The exploitation was regulated.
Rights and duties
In our two traditional cooperatives we have a lot of different rights and duties. The oldest written rules of Morgeten cooperative were written in 1586.
Cultural, Economic and Social Development
After the beginning brake -down of roman imperia here in mountain areas, the economic development went very slow, but the social stability and security in these village communities with subsidiary agriculture was quite good. The cultural development was long time influenced by strong traditions and geographic immobility. Time changed in late middle-age with beginning of cheese and cattle trade.
Historic Summary
This kind of vertical nomadism in mountain areas ask for a lot of infrastructure. With these corporative solutions in early centuries, this well balanced mixture of common and private interets was a good social and economic solution for poor regions. If it was not like that, the cooperatove would not exist.
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