"I work hard to produce a high-quality product, I receive a good price, and I am not harming the environment"

Sabino Coaquira Canazaca

Cecovasa

CECOVASA was founded in 1970, when a group of Peruvian coffee farmers in the Lake Titicaca region of Peru came together to find a better way to sell their coffee. Until then, these farmers sold their beans to intermediaries, who typically paid less than half the market price. Today, the cooperative is so strong that the intermediaries no longer work in the area.

CECOVASA is comprised of eight cooperatives and was Fair Trade certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) in 1993, which allowed it to export directly to U.S. and European markets. Its members are primarily indigenous Quechua and Aymará.

Cecovasa Fairtrade Organic Coffee

Fairtrade Benefits

The Fair Trade price has enabled Cecovasa to establish various social and productive programs:

  • Education - expansion of educational opportunities. With the support of Fair Trade revenue, thousands of families have been able to send their children to school, and many children have gone on to pursue higher education.

  • Productive Investment - Investing in quality. CECOVASA built a cupping laboratory at the central organic coffee storage facility and instituted a quality control training program at the Peruvian Coffee Board’s cupping laboratory for the workers responsible for the storage and shipment of members' coffee.

  • Investing in community - cooperative volunteers installed a sewer system, and the cooperative is contributing funds to the construction of a hydroelectric plant in nearby Tunquimayo that will supply energy to the region.

  • Modernising equipment - the cooperative purchased eight computers, five printers, and three photocopiers for its office. CECOVASA also invested in farming equipment, including 40 de-pulping machines, 1,000 pruning saws, and three humidity scales, and maintains its depulping machines in excellent working condition.
  • Womens Programs - supporting women and health. CECOVASA established the Committee for the Development of Women (CODEMU), which provides a forum for discussion and training on such topics as first aid, leadership, gender roles, and animal husbandry.
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