In 1975, 228 coffee producers and their families (including 30 women producers) began working and selling coffee together under the name Cooperativea Agrícola Uníon y Fuerza (CAUFUL). In 2002, they were officially recognized as a cooperative, and that same year, as a group they purchased a 40-manzana (nearly 70-acre) farm—a read more
The Rahmat Kinara cooperative was founded in March 2007 with just a small group of farmers. Quickly, they came to see the benefits of certifications, “especially Fairtrade,” they say, and became Fairtrade certified in 2014. Today, the co-op employs 20 permanent staff members (who oversee quality control and other functions) read more
Campesinos Ecológicos de La Sierra Madre de Chiapas, or CESMACH, is a cooperative uniting more than 700 small producers from 37 communities and four municipalities. Most members' farm lands abut the Triunfo Biosphere Reserve—a magnificent, protected mountain range and wildlife sanctuary that's home to endangered flora and fauna, a cloud forest and read more
UPDATE: Shantawene has won 7th place (from more than 1,400 entries) in the 2020 Cup of Excellence in Ethiopia! In 2006, brothers Asefa and Mulugeta Dukamo founded Daye Bensa, a coffee grower and exporter in Ethiopia. Daye Bensa exports coffee from its farm, in the Shantawene Village, as well as read more
APROSELVA (Asociacion de Productores Cafetaleros Selva Central) is a producer cooperative in the Junin region of Peru. The co-op consists of 530 producer members from 15 small communities in the provinces of Chanchamayo and Satipo, between 1,200 and 1,800 masl. These beautiful farms are rich in agricultural diversity, from shade-giving read more
La Asociacion Sostenible de Café de Guatemala (ASDECAFE) is a sustainable, second-level coffee association in Guatemala with more than 1,000 active producer members. It was founded in September 2013 by six small, first-level producer organizations and today includes seven co-ops in the regions of Huehuetenango and El Quiche. ASDECAFE received read more
This Fair Trade Organic coffee is produced by the cooperative Reyna del Cafe which translates to the Queen of Coffee. The coop is located in northern Nicaragua in the department of Madriz which is recognized for having a unique micro climate. Higher elevations and cool dry weather allow for the coffee read more
In June 1995, 250 women and 120 men in the department of Chiquimula, in Quetzaltepeque, Guatemala, founded the Associacion de Desarollo Integral Sostenible de Quezaltepeque (ADISQUE). Today, 356 families produce Organic-certified, shade-grown coffee over 520 hectares. On their family-owned farms, ADISQUE members work hard to fulfill their vision to generate social and read more
The Konga cooperative is one in a network of cooperatives in the Yirgacheffe region belonging to the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). Its 2,400 smallholder members distinguish themselves with their impeccable attention to detail in processing. Ethiopian heirloom varietals are chosen from the forest and transplanted to small gardens, read more
Finca Santa Isabel has been family owned and operated by four generations of the Keller family, dating to 1899. The Kellers’ commitment to producing excellent coffee goes hand in hand with their dedication to the environment. The Kellers’ entire coffee crop is shade grown, more than 1,500 short-haired sheep roam read more
