Brazil: Cooperativa dos Agricultores Familiares de Poco Fundo e Regi

“Fair Trade has given us the ability to grow coffee the way it should be grown – sustainably, organically and with great concern for quality. Our families are fed, our children are in school, and now we can tend to the coffee and the environment.” --- Luis Adauto de Oliveira, Coopfam President

Cooperativa dos Agricultores Familiares de Poco Fundo e Regi, Ltda (Coopfam) is an association of small-scale farmers located in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Coopfam was formed from a collective desire to improve the living standard of farmers and to reduce poverty and emigration. In 1991, seventy-six families united to form the cooperative, determined to increase the productivity of their small plots and sustain the quality of family-oriented agriculture in the region. Coopfam was Fair Trade certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) in 1998 and began exporting to the United States in 2003.

The Brazil Responsible Sourcing Partnership Coopfam is one of twelve Brazilian Fair Trade Certified producer groups participating in the Responsible Sourcing Partnership (RSP) project. The RSP project is a result of a partnership between USAID, TransFair USA, and SEBRAE-MG designed to improve the quality of Brazilian coffee, increase market linkages and raise producer capacity. Through participation in the RSP project, Coopfam has been able to improve available infrastructure and in turn the quality of their coffee and has benefited from training programs and increased contact with the U.S. coffee market

Highlights At the inaugural Brazilian Fair Trade Certified Cupping competition in 2008, Coopfam president Luis Adauto de Oliveira’s organic coffee received the first place prize in the natural category. The coffee was auctioned for $7.20 per pound – a price more than five dollars higher than that typically paid for Fair Trade organic coffee. Luis’ winning coffee was dried on a cement drying patio funded through the Responsible Sourcing Partnership project.

The Fair Trade price has enabled Cooperativa dos Agricultores Familiares de Poco Fundo e Regi to establish various social and productive programs.

Education Coopfam has implemented computer education classes for children and the community. They have also established a partnership with a private school to offer quality education to children of cooperative members.

Productive Investment With their Fair Trade premium, Coopfam has built a storage and processing facility for member use, and purchased tractors and other equipment. The Fair Trade premium enabled them to buy office technology and equipment to improve supply management and marketing. They have also purchased a car that is used to visit member farms and attend meetings. To improve member training sessions they invested in a projector, laptop, digital camera and mobile telephones. The cooperative also hired an agronomist to support and give training to member families as well as provide soil analysis and harvesting and handling training. Technical assistance for producers is fundamental in Coopfam’s promotion of sustainable, organic production.

Environment Coopfam has been able to continue its sustainable agriculture training program for co-op members.

Health The co-op has used Fair Trade revenue to broaden healthcare coverage for co-op members and their families. They have developed a partnership with a health service provider to offer basic coverage to members. Services include access to a general practitioner, women’s health services, vision and dental care. Coopfam also makes donations to the local public hospital and helps with special projects.

Home Improvements Coopfam has expanded the local electricity network to provide electrical access to everyone in the community. In an innovative effort, members of the cooperative manage a community farm with a house that serves as senior citizen residence for elderly members. All profits generated from the community farm are invested back into the house to pay for food, medicine, and maintenance expenses.

Ethiopia: Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union

"Fair Trade has definitely helped our community—it has helped us improve our school and water supplies. It has also made a big difference in the price we get for our coffee with the guaranteed payment. We simply want you to buy our coffee at a fair price so we can be independent." —Workineh Heldaja, OCFCU member

OCFCU (Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union), the largest Fair Trade coffee producer in Ethiopia, was founded in 1999 when small cooperatives in Southwestern Ethiopia came together with the goal of exporting their coffee directly to the specialty market.

OCFCU members are dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship and social justice in their communities. Women hold prominent positions throughout the organization and all six varieties of OCFCU’s award-winning coffee are produced with organic techniques in bird-friendly conditions. The cooperative became Fair Trade Certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) in 2002. Today, OCFCU sells its coffee to Fair Trade markets in the United States and Europe.

OCFCU has invested Fair Trade revenues in the following initiatives:

Crop diversification Members intercrop coffee plants with citrus and bananas for consumption.

Credit program OCFCU has established a cooperative bank which offers low-interest loans to members, alleviating dependence on outside financing.

Infrastructure improvements Member organizations have purchased washing stations for their coffee, and OCFCU has developed a fund for repairing equipment.

Education Member co-ops have constructed 4 schools and 21 additional classrooms with the Fair Trade premium, and four new schools are underway.

Health OCFCU has funded the construction and operation of four local health clinics.

Sustainable agriculture OCFCU hires and trains development agents to teach member farmers sustainable farming methods. OCFCU’s coffee is forest-grown, organic, and bird-friendly.

A commitment to organic production. OCFCU provides training to its members on organic farming techniques such as composting the by-products of coffee production and utilizing shade trees and natural fertilizers.

Mexico: Unión de Ejidos y Comun de Caficultores Benificio Majomut

”Fair Trade creates a relationship between a consumer who receives a product of excellent quality and a producer who gets a fair price for it. In addition to quality we have something other sellers cannot offer to the consumer — the chance to help communities develop by supporting farmer-owned organizations and care for the environment through the purchase of organic coffee.” -- Victor Perezgrovas, Unión Majomut Export Manager

Unión Majomut is a cooperative comprised of 1,700 producers in 29 communities located in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The co-op was founded in 1983 with the goal of improving the lives of coffee producers in these communities. In 1992, Unión Majomut became certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). The organization now exports to Europe, Japan, and the United States.

The Fair Trade price has enabled Unión de Ejidos y Comun de Caficultores Benificio Majomut to establish various social and productive programs.

Productive Investment. The co-op sponsors a training program that addresses issues of small-scale coffee production. The co-op founded a small-scale coffee roasting and milling business that sells ground coffee to the local market. The co-op hired a team of agronomists, agricultural technicians, accountants, anthropologists, and computer specialists.

Credit Program. Unión Majomut created a program that offers micro-credit to co-op members.

Womens Programs. Women formed twenty-eight groups promoting organic coffee production, chicken farming, food safety, and healthcare.

Papua New Guinea: Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative

"Fair Trade has shown us that, through our own efforts, development can come to our area." --- Eno Nosare, HOAC Member

HOAC (Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative Ltd.) is an organization of farmers in the remote Eastern Highlands Province of the Okapa Region of Papua New Guinea. Created in 2004, HOAC was formed to tap into the collective voice of the quality coffee growers in Okapa. The cooperative has brought people together to discuss community issues such as poor road access, whereas before there was no focal point for meetings and discussions. Coffee Connections, an exporter of certified organic coffee in the region, facilitated the formation of HOAC in order to increase local benefits beyond higher prices.

Since becoming Fair Trade certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) in 2005, increased revenue has allowed HOAC farmers to take better care of their plants and improve the quality of their coffee.

The Fair Trade price has enabled Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative to establish various social and productive programs.

Education The cooperative has purchased textbooks and desks for community schools and has provided materials for the construction of new schools.

Productive Investment Farmers have improved their coffee quality through technical assistance programs offered by the co-op.

Health The cooperative purchased new mattresses for health care centers in the region.

Transportation Improvements HOAC has improved local roads and purchased a vehicle to transport people to and from the area.

Sumatra: Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik

“The value added from Fair Trade is not just about money, it is about protecting the ecosystem and our community. We are able to invest in infrastructure to improve our well-being. Thanks to Fair Trade, one of my children is now in medical school and the other is in midwifery school.” --- Mohammed Salim

The Gayo Organic Coffee Farmers Association (PPKGO) is an organic Fair Trade coffee cooperative located in the Gayo Highlands of the Aceh province of Sumatra, Indonesia. Cooperative members are small-scale coffee farmers dedicated to producing 100% certified organic, shade-grown coffee. In a region known for political conflict, the co-op has continued to produce, process, and export high-quality Sumatran coffee. It has maintained relative peace and unity among an ethnically diverse membership comprised of Gayo, Javanese, Acehnese, Padang, and Batak peoples. Twenty percent of PPKGO’s members are women.

PPKGO lies in an environmentally sensitive region—the buffer zone to Gunung Leuser National Park, which contains critical watershed areas and sanctuaries for endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger. The co-op has been Fair Trade certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) since 2000, and Fair Trade price incentives and technical support provided by the cooperative have encouraged sustainable agriculture and resource conservation.

The Fair Trade price has enabled Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik to establish various social and productive programs.

Productive Investment Community nurseries provide improved and grafted coffee and shade tree seedlings. Farmers receive training in growing additional crops such as vanilla, potatoes, and bananas for the market. The co-op has made improvements to the water supply, local roads, mosques, and schools. PPKGO has constructed two cupping labs and 16 satellite wet mills in producing communities. PPKGO offers its members training in coffee cupping and organic certification requirements.

Environment PPKGO mobilized relief efforts to assist people affected by the earthquake-tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in December 2004.

Credit Program Co-op members now use a credit union that extends small loans to members and their families, alleviating dependence on outside financing.

Health PPKGO provides medical training to village nurses and distributes milk for babies.