Fair trade is a revolutionary trend. This system is a voluntary attempt to provide poor coffee growers with a fair living wage. This radical departure from conventional market driven solutions was born out of a European response to years of failed international coffee agreements. Equator Coffee Roasters has been a licensee with Transfair Canada since 1998. Since that time Canada has had huge growth in the number of licensees.

A vicious cycle of underdevelopment and poverty exists for poor coffee growers in southern countries. On their own, they do not have the resources or knowledge to secure a fair deal for their coffee. The international system drives down commodity prices for growers while the price of a cup of coffee in North America goes up. Ninety percent of the profits from coffee go to traders and retailers.

Transfair International helps small farmers to organize into democratically run co-operatives. These co-operatives provide a huge financial and social benefit to the individual farmer. Transfair certified coffee ensures that the coffee co-op receives a minimum price of $1.26 USD per pound of Arabica coffee with added premiums for organic certification. In 2003, the average price per pound on the open market has been around $0.50USD. With that market price, the original farmer is receiving around $0.20USD. This is well bellow the cost of production. In actual terms, a farmer is earning a fifth of what he did five years ago. A farmer in the Transfair system must have a small farm - 2.5 hectares or less. This ensures that the people getting the benefit are the people that need it. As members of a co-op, the farmers can collectively own equipment and even processing facilities. These are important benefits if we realize that a coffee farmer on their own could never even own a truck to take their coffee cherries to market.

The coffee farmer in the above pictures is from a consortium of Costa Rican coffee co-operatives of Guanacosta and Montes de Oro. This organization called COOCAFE began in 1988 with the joining of 6 remote co-ops, and now represents 5000 small farmers and their families. It is presently the only Fair Trade co-op in Costa Rica. In addition to increasing their self-sufficiency, the co-op has created a scholarship program for the farmers' children and is involved in a reforestation and rainforest preservation project.

Co-op Profiles

Costa Rica
The coffee farmer in the above pictures is from a consortium of Costa Rican coffee co-operatives of Guanacosta and Montes de Oro. This organization called COOCAFE began in 1988 with the joining of 6 remote co-ops, and now represents 5000 small farmers and their families. It is presently the only Fair Trade co-op in Costa Rica. In addition to increasing their self-sufficiency, the co-op has created a scholarship program for the farmers' children and is involved in a reforestation and rainforest preservation project. Equator's Costa Rican coffee comes from this co-op.

Ethiopia
Our Ethiopian coffee comes from the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCO) which began in 1999 when 34 small co-ops came together to allow the farmers to take control of their economic destiny. In addition to exporting and providing warehousing and processing services, the Union offers transportation services, supplies its members with goods at wholesale prices, and advocates members’ causes. The 22,734 farmer members of OCFCO are organized in 34 cooperatives in order to market their coffees. The total area cultivated by the cooperatives is 35,051 hectares (86,487 acres). Individual farms range in size from 0.25 to 2.0 hectares.

Red cherries are handpicked from October through December. Washed coffees are wet-milled at OCFCO, then sundried to a target moisture content of 11.5%. Natural (dry-processed) coffees are sundried and hulled at the cooperative level. All dry-milling is done by OCFCO at a government-owned facility. The export season runs from November through June.

Guatemalan
This coffee is produced from the central highlands of Guatemala. Huehuetenango is a district one hundred miles northwest of the old Guatemalan capital. Their coffee is a strictly hard bean, indicating coffees grown at altitudes of 4,500 feet or higher. High altitude insures the beans are dense, offering a subtle acidity, sweet aroma, and snappy flavor. The Guatemalan co-operative, Sedecocagua, has used its coffee proceeds to support a community network. More details to follow.

Indonesia
Equator's Sumatran coffee is a classic Mandheling grown in the buffer zone surrounding Gunung Leuser National Park on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The growers are part of the Gayo Organic Coffee Growers Association or Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik (PPKGO) a diverse membership of about 1,250 families from the Gayo Aceh and Javanese ethnic communities who together promote inter-ethnic unity and conflict resolution. PPKGO was formed in 1999 with the assistance of ForesTrade, Inc, a Vermont-based company, whose mission is to support sustainable agriculture, natural resource conservation and socio-economic development through the promotion of Fair Trade and organic-certified products.

Mexico
Equator's Mexican coffee comes from a cooperative called Indigenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla (ISMAM). ISMAM was formed over a decade ago by smallholder coffee growers to meet problems of low productivity, poor marketing conditions and extreme poverty of farm families. By adopting organic techniques and improving quality, the cooperative was able to overcome soil degradation and low yields and move into a privileged speciality market that rewarded their extra efforts towards an ecologically sound production. Through sound, participatory management of the organization and hard work, ISMAM was able to capitalize their enterprise, overcome initial government disinterest and repression to become a major agro-industry with their own processing facilities and direct export markets in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. They have begun to produce blends and soluble coffee for the national market and to diversify their agro-production for greater food security.

Besides expanding their business, part of ISMAM's profits are returned to regional committees of the coop for investment in social works. In 1995 ISMAM received the National Agro-Export prize from the hands of Mexico's President. They now enjoy a privileged position with respect to credit and government support and have diversified their business into a number of areas including eco-tourism.

Nicaragua
Our Nicaraguan coffee comes a small group of coffee producers from the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua. In this region, the coffee trees are mostly of the older Bourbon variety with some Caturra and a small amount of Catuai. The coffee is grown at approximately 1200 to 1400 meters (4000 to 4500 feet) above sea level. The coffee is certified organic, shade grown by OCIA International (The Organic Crop Improvement Association). This group of organic coffee producers are in their third year of organic certification.

Peru
This coffee comes from the Central Cooperative of Coffee Farmers of Piura (CEPICAFE) in Peru, one of many coffee organizations under a central body called the Apecafe, or Specialty Coffee Association of Peru. In Peru, the member owners CEPICAFE are building a better future for themselves with the support of fair trade. You, as a consumer, can have a direct impact on the lives of farming families. As Frederico Rivera Morena of CEPICAFE explained, "With the money that arrived, I have bought clothing for my children, made home improvements, and renovated my farm."

Peruvian Decaf
Our decaf comes from the Central de Co-operatives Agrarias, which began in 1967 as an organization of 7 co-ops and officially became COCLA in 1991. It is based in Quillabamba, Peru, and serves farmers in the Lares and La Convencion valleys of the Peruvian Andes. It now represents approximately 5000 cafetelleros (coffee farmers) from 24 Co-ops. In addition to finding markets and establishing fair prices, COCLA has a nursery of coffee plants to help farmers recover from floods.

Bolivia
Our Bolivian coffee comes from Coop Cafetarela San Juan. More information to follow.

Colombia
Colombia is the only country in the world with a National Coffee Federation that pays a subsidy when international prices are low and provides social services and infrastructure improvements in coffee-growing regions. To fund this work, it taxes exports heavily when international prices are high. The Federation's export agency, EXPOCAFE, exports about half of the country's coffee. The Colombian coffee used by Equator Coffee Roasters is from EXPOCAFE.