| We strive to find partners who put passion into what they do and who give a hang about the world. |
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Africa & Indonesia:
(FT= fair trade . O= organic . SG= shade grown) |
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| Ethiopia - |
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Living in circular thatched huts on 5 acres of land is typical for Fair Trade producers in Ethiopia (trivia fact: Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee). With the old colonial auction still in place , it took the collective muscle of the Oromia Coffee Farmers' Union and its 23,000 members to by-pass the 'system' and sell direct to Fair Trade buyers. This gave farmers the economic freedom to earn a reliable living and go organic. It's better for the coffee and better for the farmers (pesticides make dangerous bedfellows). |
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Papua New Guinea – Goroka (FT/O/SG)
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info coming soon.
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Sumatra – (Organic Coffee Farmers Assoc – or PPKGO) (FT/O/SG)
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Despite major political unrest in this region, these determined yet easy-going farmers are producing 100% organic, shade grown crops. Among other things, they have developed a clean water supply system, a weed cutter project that alleviates the need for herbicides, and their own credit union. Can you do that? |
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Timor - Maubessee (FT/O/SG)
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With the money earned from selling their coffee to the fair trade market, this co-op has developed a health care program that handles 1,200 cases each month. This includes 8 fixed clinics and 24 mobile clinics that provide free medical services to farmers and their families. |
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| East Timor – Cooperative Café Timor or CCT (FT/O/SG) |
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After the 1999 referendum for independence (98% voter turnout!) the Indonesian army devastated East Timor’s coffee industry by killing some 1,500 people, displacing three-quarters of the population and destroying 75% of the infrastructure. Yet amidst this turmoil, small farmers continued to cultivate coffee — and the CCT is growing! They use their Fair Trade income for projects like a their network of 8 rural health clinics and 24 mobile clinics. |
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Americas:
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Bolivia - Colonial Caranavi (FT/O/SG)
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During the ‘50’s wealthy landowners took over this region, confiscating property and enslaving the natives. In 1991, the Bolivia enacted reform to return this land to its original owners — small farmers whose families had worked the land for generations. The ‘colonial’ farmers once again have the freedom to control their own lives, improve their income and contribute to their communities. Part of that is producing a very dynamic coffee.
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Colombia - Fondo Paez (FT/O/SG)
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Founded in 1992, the Fondo Paez Cooperative’s primary goal was to protect their traditional indigenous agricultural methods and pass them on to future generations. These farmers take a holistic approach to farming. For them, coffee is part of a diverse agro-forestry system. |
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Costa Rica - COOCAFE (FT/O/SG)
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Their umbrella cooperative, COOCAFE, works with all its members to diversify crops, so they're not dependent on the rough-and-tumble coffee market. They grow awesome macadamia nuts, yuka root and bananas. COOCAFE also helps members set up water recycling systems. |
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El Salvador – Torogoz (FT/O/SG)
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The Torogoz farmers dedicate their production to their Mayan ancestors by farming in accordance with their religious values and traditional respect for the environment. Forming a fair trade cooperative is one of the ways they’ve overcome the recent obstacles of earthquakes and government-imposed war taxes. |
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Guatemala - Apecaform (FT/O/SG)
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Co-op Coffees has purchased coffee from Apecaform since its first year of operations. Fair Trade has allowed these farmers to purchase land and build their own infrastructure, including their own warehouse in Malacatan, which is where we met with them in Feb 2003. |
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Hawaii - Kauai Estate Goofy-bean Reserve
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We love our Hawaiian partner. They are super aggressive about sustainable agricultural methods like conserving water, striving for zero environmental impact and dedicating a large part of their land to native wilderness. They are not Fair Trade, because in Hawaii, there’s no need for Fair Trade. There’s an active farm workers union and farmers don’t face the hurdles of isolation they do developing countries.
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Mexico - Mut Vitz (FT/O/SG)
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The indigenous people of the Chiapas region, of direct Mayan descent, receive nada in government support or service. Which may be why they are sustainability pioneers — they formed their own cooperative, established a model management structure, and waded through the extensive organic certification process and KAPOW! — they became the highly regarded Mut Vitz Cooperative. Each year we visit them and share stories of our lives on each side of the globe. We contribute to their success, they contribute to our. That’s Fair Trade baby! |
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| Maya Vinic (FT/SG) |
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The religious values of these farmers promote harmony with the land. So - as you might expect - our Maya Vinic partners never use chemicals. In about a year, they’ll officially complete the three year long Organic Certification process. We first met this group of producers on our travels through Chiapas. They have persevered raids, mudslides, and the 1997 Massacare of Acteal. There inner strength is inspiring, the quality of the coffee in remarkable. It’s one of my favorites. |
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Nicaragaua – CECOCAFEN (La Esperonza & Sandino) (FT/O/SG)
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Founded in 1997, representing over 1,200 farming families, CECOCAFEN is an umbrella cooperative owned by 11 sub-cooperatives, including, Wiwili, La Esperonza, & Sandino. This co-op is amazing. They’ve started scholarship programs for members to attend high school, technical schools, and universities. They’ve created a highly regarded womens micro-savings and loan program. And Mané, our Argentine quality guru, thinks they grow the best beans in Nacaragua. |
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Peru - Pangoa (FT/O/SG)
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http://www.greendevelopment.nl/progreso/pangoa/engels/engels.htm#
The 309 farmers of the energetic and determined Pangoa Cooperative built their own hydro facility to supply electricity to their entire municipality. They’ve survived civil war, mudslides and all manner of natural disasters and their coffee is delicious—not surprising since they earmark their extra tasty higher-altitude beans for our Co-op (Dean Cycon, one of our members, spearheaded Pangoa’s first Fair Trade delivery to the US in 2003).
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