fair trade cooperation
EQUAL EXCHANGE REUNION,
IN PERU:
FAIR TRADE cooperative ADVENTURE
T
A hectare is roughly 2.5 acres and is the standard measure for farms in this part of the world. The production goal for a hectare is 1,500 pounds of coffee beans. What follows is a rough schedule of the seasonal work that the farmer will follow for each hectare in production. 1. Choose seed from best performing trees, looking for disease resistance, growth pattern and productivity. 2. In January, prepare a 3 x 1 meter seedling bed to hold 4,000 seedlings that germinate in 60 days. 3. Transplant 4,000 seedlings into transplant bags where they stay until about one foot tall. 4. Prepare soil, dig hole and plant transplants. One worker can do
about 100 per day. If all goes well, no sickness or family needs, the farmer can get these all planted in about six weeks of daily work. Stone walls are maintained on the steep hillsides to prevent erosion. 5. April should bring plenty of rain. One month after transplant, trees are weeded and fertilized, using compost from the prior harvest cherries and manure. 6. Every year there will be three fertilizations and three weedings. Three years later there will be coffee to harvest sometime between May and September. 7. The coffee harvest requires several passes through the trees to collect berries as they ripen. 8. On each harvest day fresh picked cherries are depulped or pitted, and the bean is fermented, cleaned and set out to dry. This happens at the Co-op’s beneficio with the now electric de-pulper. 9. The beans are dryed and then packed to work their way to market. All dropped cherries must be cleaned off the ground around the trees because the coffee bore will hatch from the litter and damage the trees. Also, the coffee trees are pruned along with the shade trees that are mixed in the planting.
FA I R LY T R A D E D W O R K P L A C E J U S T I C E
Three years ago electricity finally became available to Coyona. Most homes in the pueblo now have at least a few light bulbs and outlets. This also allowed the Co-op to switch the de-pulping machinery from diesel to electric, which runs cleaner and is more quiet to operate. The most obvious change I saw as soon as we drove into Coyona was the Co-op warehouse building. The old building was dark and deteriorating. This new building has good light, storage, meeting space and an office. There are a few small rooms with beds and several bathrooms with showers that the farmers and other farm guests use. The Co-op financed this building using a loan through Cepicafe and each coop member volunteered seven days of labor during the construction phase! Evidently some members were so excited and invested in the new building that they volunteered several weeks of extra time. It seems that whether a co-op associate or not, everyone in town takes an interest in the Co-op and is proud of the new building. NEXT MONTH: Part Two of Michelle’s report from Peru.
LA MONTANITA
FUND
EQUAL
OUR GRASSROOTS INVESTING and micro-loan FUND is currently making loans to FOOD PRODUCERS of all sizes. CONTACT Robin at 877-775-2667 or robins@lamontanita.coop.
EXCHANGE
E
qual Exchange was founded in 1986, to challenge the existing large scale corporate trade model, support small farmers and connect consumers and producers through information, education and the exchange of products in the marketplace. Joining a growing movement of small farmers, alternative traders (ATOs), religious organizations and non-profits throughout the world with the shared belief that only through organization can small farmers survive and thrive; Equal Exchange believes that the cooperative model is essential for building economic justice and change. Equal Exchange is a for-profit worker cooperative whose structure is based on standard democratic principles. It is not designed to maximize profits, nor returns to investors, but rather to bring to the workplace many of the rights and responsibilities that we hold as citizens in our communities. These principles include one-person/one-vote equality; open access to information (i.e., open-book management); free speech; and the equitable distribution of resources (such as income.) Fair Trade is a way of doing business with the goal of keeping for small farmers an active part of the world marketplace and empowering consumers to make purchases that support their values. Fair Trade is a set of business practices voluntarily adopted by the producers and buyers of agricultural commodities and handmade crafts, and designed to advance many economic, social and environmental goals, including: • Raising and stabilizing the incomes of small-scale farmers, farm workers and artisans;
• More equitably distributing the economic gains, opportunities and risks associated with the production and sale of these goods; • Increasing the organizational and commercial capacities of producer groups; • Supporting democratically owned and controlled producer organizations; • Promoting labor rights and the right of workers to organize; • Promoting safe and sustainable farming methods and working conditions; • Connecting consumers and producers and increasing consumer awareness and engagement with issues affecting producers. THE FAIR TRADE PRACTICES that advance these goals typically, but not always, include: • Direct trade relationships and long-term contracts between importers and producer groups, • Sourcing from small-farmer or artisan cooperatives and providing higher than conventional market prices, providing affordable access to capital, adherence to the policies of the International Labor Organization, especially those concerning child and forced labor, and the right to collective bargaining. Fair Trade organizations utilize third-party independent external audits and certification of organic practices that prohibit the use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides and provide substantial price premiums for the production of certified organic crops. Look for a wide variety of Equal Exchange fairly traded products at all Co-op locations. Learn more at:
www.equalexchange.coop
GOat GREEN ! your Get your locally grown GREEN VEGGIES CO-OP
September 2013 5
Growing the Cooperative The farmers continue to benefit from agronomist attention provided through Co-op NORANDINO and Cepicafe, its nonprofit sister organization. Since my last visit the composting process has been improved and all the water from the depulping process is cleaned before running back into the river. There seems to be a more complete understanding of organic practices and the holistic approach that the farmers are so proud to be participating in.
BY MICHELLE FRANKLIN, CO-OP DISTRIBUTION CENTER MANAGER en years ago, Equal Exchange, a worker owned cooperative focused on importing Fair Trade goods, invited me to go to Peru to visit their coffee growers. It was an amazing experience. To my surprise I was invited back this summer on a reunion visit to explore what has changed. I will be reporting over the next few months about my trip and what I have learned, starting with some basics on what goes into the coffee crop at the farm level. Cooperative Coffee Our trip was focused on production in the region of Piura, Peru, which is at the northern part of the country bordering on Ecuador. The capital city, also named Piura, is a hustling commercial center of about 400,000 people. Traveling from Piura, about five hours on four-wheel-drive roads into the mountains, is Coyona, a small pueblo of 650. This is the home of the Cooperativa Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, one of the 90 farmer co-ops that own the second level Co-op NORANDINO. The population of the pueblo has not changed since my visit ten years ago but the number of farmers who are now co-op members has risen from 200 to 250. A lot of work goes into producing our morning cup of Joe, so it is amazing that more farmers are coming on board; It is a testament to Fair Trade practices in the region, a strong supportive second level co-op, and individuals’ commitment to an agrarian lifestyle.
PART I
at any Co-op location. Fresh, fair, organic...