In Sumatra, Kokowagayo is a women-owned and women-managed coffee cooperative on the Aceh province. Kokowagayo has 567 farmer members from seven villages in the Bener Meriah districts. Kokowagayo is an abbreviation for Koperasi Kopi Wanita Gayo. The group has 18 women in leadership roles — a chairwoman and business manager, read more
In Peru, Central Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras, or COCLA Ltda., is a second-degree cooperative, meaning it’s a larger representative of 21 smaller cooperatives. In total, it represents more than 3,500 coffee-farming families. COCLA was formed 53 years ago, on July 26, 1967, by a group of coffee farmers looking to secure read more
Colombia Sierra Nevada TAYRONACA Fairtrade Organic The Cesar department in Northern Colombia is a Spanish take on the Chimila indigenous word Chet-tzar or Zazare, meaning “calm water.” This is a reference to the Cesar River which extends through most of the department in this valley created by the Sierra Nevada de Santa read more
Masha Natural Organic and Rainforest Alliance–certified coffee comes from Masha Woreda Yeppo Village, a coffee farm owned by world-renown running champion Haile Gebrselassie. The land was a gift from the Ethiopian government, in thanks for his achievements representing Ethiopia. Among his accomplishments, Haile is a two-time Olympic champion, a four-time read more
In 1992, with help from organizers affiliated with the Catholic church, 359 coffee producers came together to form the Comunidades Indigenas de la Region de Simojovel de Allende, S.S.S. (CIRSA) association. Within a few years, CIRSA had earned Organic and Fairtrade certification. More recently, it was able to purchase land read more
Approximately 3,000 farming families are part of the Central Fronteriza del Norte de Cafetaleros (CENFROCAFE), a cooperative that offers members access to training, financing and agronomy advice aimed at increasing yields and quality—with the aim of increasing producers’ earnings. The cooperative also gives each member extraordinarily more power and market read more
In Ethiopia, the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) is a farmer-owned cooperative with members from across the Oromia Regional State, which accounts for 65 percent of the country’s total coffee-growing land. The OCFCU was established in 1999, with 34 small cooperative as members, to facilitate the direct export of read more
Our Sumatra Organic comes from Mahara, an exciting, young cooperative in Gayo that InterAmerican Senior Vice President Kayd Whalen had the pleasure of visiting in early 2019, just as our coffees were being packed for shipment. Formed in 2015, Mahara has 460 organic-certified members spread across five villages and two read more
In Western Honduras, the Agricultural Cooperative Cafetalera San Antonio Limited (COAGRICSAL) is an organization of coffee, cocoa and pepper producers that was formed in 1998 with 32 members. The group has since grown to more than 1,500 member families and continues to grow each year. COAGRICSAL is committed to social read more
Colombia Tolima is currently purchased from one of three cooperatives. Additionally, the coffee is available with Organic and Fairtrade Organic certifications. (Check with your trader for cooperative and certification details.) ASOBRIS The ASOBRIS producer association (or, Asociacion de Productores Agricolas Ecologicos y Pecuarios Brisas del Quebradon) reaches 25 villages in read more
