Fairtrade Certified Coffee
Meet the Farmers
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EAST TIMOR
Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT)
Country: East Timor
Number of Members: 21,558
Product: East Timor Beans & Ground
Flavour Profile: Medium body with a rich, earthy flavour and smooth, creamy finish
With a rich earthy flavour and a smooth creamy finish, our Oxfam fair East Timor coffee is one of our most popular.
The beans are sourced from Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT); the only Fairtrade certified coffee cooperative in East Timor. CCT is a major employer in the region and plays a significant role in the country’s development providing employment and support for its 21,000+ members.
With high mortality rates in East Timor, Health care is CCT’s main priority.
The Fairtrade Premium has been used to cover costs of the following;
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Doctors and nurses transportation
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Medicine and medical equipment to improve the health and wellbeing of CCT’s members and the wider community.
There is an ongoing need to improve infrastructure, provide agricultural tools, support women’s programs and tackle climate change.
With every purchase of Oxfam fair East Timor coffee, you can help us support CCT together.
(Image via Google maps)
(Image via Pixabay)
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
COOPFAM
Country: Brazil
Product: South America blend beans and ground
Number of members: 515
Flavour profile: Soft and nutty with bittersweet chocolate notes
About the cooperative
Located in the mountainous landscape of the Minas region in Brazil is Cooperativa dos Agricultores Familiares de Poço Fundo e Região (COOPFAM).
Brazil grows about one third of the world's coffee, with this region being well known for its farming. Coffee here mostly cultivated by hand due to the mountainous terrain, and produces a delicious, sweet bean which is a standout in our Oxfam fair South American blend. COOPFAM were the first organisation in Brazil to obtain Fairtrade certification in 1998.
Today, they unify 515 partners, many of which are women, and are the main source of income for many families, improving living and working conditions in the field and the community. One of their objectives is to provide products of quality whilst preserving the environment and hence encourage pesticide free, organic farming.
They provide additional support to those transitioning to organic farming by paying for certification costs and providing education and training.
Community is One of the Pillars of COOPFAM Which is Why the Fairtrade Premium is Invested Back Into the Community via the:
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- “Good Water” project, improving the health, hygiene, and quality of water through the installation of water filters and potability analysis for all member producers and their families
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- “United for Inclusion” program, which contributes to expenses for 45 special needs community members such as pedagogy, psychology, physiotherapy
Try our newest, creamiest South American blend today and help us support Brazilian farmers.
COOPFAM prefers to focus on quality rather than quantity. It constantly strives to learn more about taking care of the environment and its members. It hopes customers that purchase its products will become a part of the 'chain of good'.
(Image supplied by COOPFAM)
Honduras
Federación de Empresas Certificadas del café de Honduras (FECAFEH)
Country: Honduras
Number of Members: N/A
Product: World Blend Beans & Ground
Flavour Profile: Fruity, sweet and dark chocolate notes
Federación de Empresas Certificadas del café de Honduras (FECAFEH) unites cooperatives across Honduras, two of which are Fairtrade certified. Being a Fairtrade organisation has brought transparency and democracy to the coffee communities in the region. They have been able to find a balance between their business and the natural resources around them.
The members of FECAFEH produce high quality coffee on small plots. The standards of certification have shaped excellent environmental and organic management at farm level. Different tree species seedlings are sold at cost-price to members so they can diversify their farms, increase quality with shade-grown techniques, and protect indigenous bird and plant species.
The Fairtrade premium has allowed FECAFEH to invest into health, education and community projects such as...
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Providing a supportive network to farmers to face issues such as climate change, which has seen diseases and pests increase over the years
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Providing university scholarships so that young people can become the coffee experts of the future
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Improving health centres and hospitals
This delicious fruity coffee can be found in our best selling World Blend - try it today!
(Image via Google maps)
(Image via Pixabay)
Indonesia
Asosiasi Kopi Gayo Organik (ASKOGO)
Country: Indonesia
Number of Members: 689
Product: World Blend Beans & Ground
Flavour Profile: Earthy with medium acidity. Notes of cedar, molasses, ginger, dark chocolate, caramel, and a hint of fruitiness
Asosiasi Kopi Gayo Organik (ASKOGO) sources coffee from 13 villages in the highlands of the Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah provinces in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
The people in these remote villages rely on agriculture for both livelihood and to feed their families. Their main income comes from coffee however, it is not without its challenges. On top of soil fertility suffering in recent years due to heavy rain, they have tough competition from conventional coffee farmers in the region. The producers must keenly search out a Fairtrade market for their organic coffee in order to receive a minimum price to support their families.
Sales from the Oxfam fair’s best selling World Blend range have been able to contribute to ASKOGO’s invaluable income, ensuring they receive the minimum Fairtrade price for their harvest.
The Fairtrade premium they receive in addition to the minimum price, has also been a huge help to ASKOGO and their community and allowed them to..
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Upgrade technology and improve productivity which will lead to higher quality and better fetch prices
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Purchase composting equipment to re-use the waste from producing coffee
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Purchase cows and use the manure to improve the quality of the soil and support their organic production system, and provide milk to sell at the markets
As a result, ASKOGO are able to produce a beautifully complex, earthy coffee with notes of cedar, molasses, ginger, dark chocolate, caramel, and a hint of fruitiness, reminiscent to the surroundings.
(Image via Google maps)
(Image via Pixabay)
Ethiopia
Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU)
Country: Ethiopia
Number of Members: 35,407
Product: Africa Blend & World Blend Beans & Ground
Flavour Profile: Medium body with a spicy, citrus flavour and well-balanced acidity, typical of the popular Sidamo bean
Founded in 1999 in the beautiful Oromia region in Ethiopia, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) is the largest Fairtrade coffee producer in Ethiopia.
They are dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship and social justice in their communities, with women holding prominent positions throughout the organisation.
Based on generations of experience, OCFCU’s Fairtrade certified coffee is grown organically under a canopy of Acacia and Oak trees amongst cardamom, ginger, papaya and sweet potatoes to create unique flavoured coffee.
The natural decay of plants and leaves, as well as animal manure, enriches the soil and creates six types of coffee – from the sweet balanced acidity of Sidamo to the spicy flavour and heavy body of Jimma.
70% of the profits are redistributed back to the primary cooperatives with OCFCU investing 30% into training and projects such as...
- Training on sustainable techniques, composting, natural fertilisers and inter-cropping
- Loans to purchase eco-friendly machines to save water, running costs and reduce pollution
- Credit and emergency funds for natural disasters and repairing equipment
- Supplied 56 clean water supply stations for coffee growing communities
Fairtrade has benefited the entire community, with the minimum price and Fairtrade Premium also contributing to...
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Construct 4 fully-equipped health clinics, available to the whole community
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Improve roads and built bridges throughout the region
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Build 15 schools and 42 classrooms
With your continued help and support of Oxfam Fair Coffee, we have been able to continue supporting farmers and communities such as Mabraat Kabbada, a member of the Oromia community.
(Photography by Roger van Zaal)
(Photography by Pierre Laviolette)
Women sorting through coffee beans, prior to exportation.
(Photography by Roger van Zaal)
A school that receives funding from the Fairtrade Premium. The children's tuition fees are also subsidised by the Fairtrade Premium.
Papua new guinea
Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative (HOAC)
Country: Papua New Guinea
Number of Members: 2080
Product: World Blend Beans & Ground
Flavour Profile: Medium body with flavours of dark chocolate and a nutty, smooth finish
The Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative (HOAC) is located in the remote Okapa region of Papua New Guinea. The region hosts ideal conditions for high quality coffee with approximately 80% of the country’s coffee coming from this region.
Coffee provides the majority of income for rural families in Okapa. There are no other major industries in this isolated area so unemployment is high, infrastructure is poor and literacy rates are low. Farmers contend with a rugged mountain terrain and a 5-10 hour trip to the nearest market town.
Being part of the Fairtrade system is improving the quality of coffee and improving the lives of the farmers and their families.
Since becoming certified in 2005, HOAC have used the Fairtrade Premium to
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Purchase pulping machinery to increase production efficiency
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Provide access to clean water
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Fund the construction of school buildings
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Supply iron roofing to improve housing quality
Who knew a cup of Oxfam fair World Blend coffee could be so empowering!
(Image via Google maps)
(Image via Pixabay)
Dominican Republic
Fairtrade Certified Cocoa
CONACADO
Country: Dominican Republic
Product: Drinking Chocolate
About the cooperative
CONACADO is an association of nearly 10,000 farmers that sell Fairtrade and organic cocoa in the Dominican Republic. Grown under the shade of avocado, citrus and banana trees, nearly half of CONACADO is sold on the Fairtrade market.
Before the formation of CONACADO, cocoa production in the tropical region was fragmented and of low quality. Since becoming Fairtrade certified in 2009, CONACADO has become one of the top three cocoa exporters in the Dominican Republic.
You can support this initiative by purchasing some of our Fairtrade certified drinking chocolate. To read more about Fairtrade and the CONACADO cooperative, visit this link.
Members have used their Fairtrade premium to...
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Build five new fermentation centres, eight drying centres and a storage warehouse
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Purchase trucks to transport the beans
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Build bridges and repairs roads
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Renovate and build schools
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Build water wells to provide fresh water for the community
All of these improvements lead to increased productivity, higher quality beans and better income for the families of CONACADO. Who knew drinking Oxfam fair Drinking Chocolate could taste so good and be so amazing!
Meet the Farmer
Nicolas Sanchez Rodriguez is a 60 year old cocoa farmer in Los Bravos
(Image supplied by FANZ)
Since becoming a Fairtrade cocoa farmer, Nicolas has been able to upgrade his family’s home and provide his wife and seven children with running water, electricity and a concrete floor, all funded by CONACADO. The previous soil floor exposed his family to disease and insect bites and various health problems.