The Weeping Reaches, Bavlo, West Ward
By member count, the Bavlo Alliance of Farmers & Ranchers is the largest guild in Bavlo. The main roads leading out of town are covered in farming settlements, settlements occupied by guild members, for dozens of miles beyond the edge of Bavlo's tenative municipal border. The actual employee count for the Alliance's offices in Bavlo is relatively minimal, as much of the actual work involved in running the headquarters is simple clerical paperwork and written correspondence.
B.A.F.R. works with the Appraiser's Union and multiple other local organizations, including the Bavlovian Quorum, to ensure fair prices, prevent profiteering, and assure its members have consistent access to good wages and large markets.
B.A.F.R. officials and clerks have developed a strong relationship with the Bavlovian government and several regional trade guilds to ensure fair pricing and market access for their members. Most of the day-to-day activity in the guild headquarters involves handling the mass of paperwork resulting from an average day of trade across the Bavlo markets.
While a small portion of the guild's income comes from annual membership fees, the most profitable actions the guild undertakes is the (entirely voluntary) produce and comestible buyback program it offers to its members. This program purchases bulk goods from its membership at market value (minus a small service fee) and uses its network of trade contacts to find market placement for this broad range of goods.
Collection of membership fees occurs on a yearly cycle, usually immediately after the final harvest of the season. Guild accountants collect monthly fees from market vendors accessing the guild's buyback program, and aids these vendors in maintaining accurate paperwork for the purpose of growing analytical data which informs the trade regulations of the Bavlovian government.
In the event of natural disaster or destruction of property, the B.A.F.R. works in conjunction with the Bavlovian Quorum to provide aid and relief to its membership suffering from drought or plague amongst their crops and/or herds. Rarely, an aggreived member will bring a wrongful damages suit to the guild, which will act on their behalf bringing a legal case to the Bavlovian Quorum.
The guild's leadership consists of a rotating council of elder farmers and ranchers from guild members in the Bavlo region. These elected individuals serve as long as they care to, or as long as they maintain the favor of their constituents. It is rare for a council member to act without the interest of guild membership in mind.
Though there is a minor heirarchy of team leaders and managers overseeing the office staff and work flow of the guild's headquarters, there is very little heirarchy or seniority amongst base membership. Respect and esteem can be accrued by particularly successful, hardworking, or knowledgable members, but these qualities do not equate to authority, either by membership mentality or by guild bylaws.
The racial demographics of the guild's membership roughly mimicks that of Bavlo's rural stretches. Primarily gnoll and orrk'ari, there are still a strong smattering of other miscellaneous races who have found a home and a living in the countryside surrounding Bavlo.
Being a well established and truly grassroots organization, the B.A.F.R. operates specifically to ensure the prosperity of its members throughout the greater Bavlo area. Bavlo's comparatively high concentration of farmland has caused it to become an export hub for the products of ranchers and farmers, and the B.A.F.R. has worked tirelessly to ensure this high demand adequately reimburses its membership.
The B.A.F.R. is a relatively simplistic and above-ground in its methods, ethics, and operations, and has no secret or otherwise hidden motives.
Official business and trade agreements in one form or another exist between the B.A.F.R. and the Bavlovian Quorum, the Merchant Association of Bavlo, the Far Reach Shipping Guild, and the Durmont Embassy. Informal relationships exist between the guild and most of the larger markets in Bavlo proper, ensuring prime placement for the guild's members and reselling agents.