From the Bean to the Cup - Peru's CEPICAFE, a Coffee Coop From Piura

The city of Piura is where Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded the first Spanish city in South America called San Miguel de Piura in 1532. For this reason, the city has the nickname "La Primera Ciudad" or "First City." Piura served as the main port for the Spaniards to ship the Inca gold back to Spain. The region is beautiful, including nearby coastlines that are becoming world famous because of their waves and surfing opportunities. The metropolitan area includes all the amenities of a city that has great tourist appeal and a diversified economy.

The region around Piura is agricultural and carries on the Peruvian tradition of coffee growing. The farms are owned by small scale coffee growers who are active members of cooperatives, a very common practice in the coffee trade.

What is a coop? It is an organization that is collectively owned by its members which is important because this way the members have a vested interest in the success of the cooperative for generations to come. Coops have governing board of directors and volunteer committees to carry out the general administrative tasks and to promote the health, safety, resource management and other programs that are one of the main benefits members enjoy.

The Central Piurana de Cafetaleros or CEPICAFE coop was founded in 1995 in the city of Piura.

CEPICAFE is an organization that represents thousands of coffee, sugar and fruit producers from more than 90 separate organizations from Northwestern Peru regions.
It is not surprising that CEPICAFE selected Piura as its home base. Piura has well developed transportation networks and a large business community with access to regional, national and international markets.
CEPICAFE is a fair trade, green coffee exporting cooperative that also exports "panela" (raw brown sugar cane), fruit jams and cocoa. Farmers cultivate other crops along with coffee, some of which offer beneficial shade to the coffee bushes.
CEPICAFE acts as an umbrella organization for other producing organizations and is recognized as a strong cooperative with solid objectives for growth, social improvements and environmentally focused practices.
CEPICAFE is focused on fair trade markets. This means that trade partnerships are based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect. Prices paid to producers reflect the work they do. Coop workers have the right to organize and the products need to be environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly.

One of the biggest advantages that CEPICAFE offers its members is their role as a price regulator that prevents intermediaries and private companies from paying farmers artificially low prices through collusion, an illegal practice that unfortunately happens.

The benefit is higher incomes and living standards for all the families growing coffee for the coop.
When the farmers have to sell coffee outside of the coffee cooperative due to lack of fair trade market demand, they sell to Peruvian exporters.
The difference between fair trade organization pricing and open market pricing can be 40 per cent higher, which is a huge variance. This difference means coffee farmers can buy clothing for children, make home improvements, buy equipment for farms, pay for education and other expenses.
In addition, another benefit from CEPICAFE is that its large membership makes this cooperative a powerful voice the government and private enterprise hears.
For example, this communal voice helps coop members get access to credit because their numbers make it an attractive target market segment for financial institutions.
The coop also gets opportunities for technical training from governmental and non-governmental agencies specializing in coffee and other agricultural crops.

The end result of a well run coop such as CEPICAFE is better quality coffee, something that has long term beneficial impact on the community.

So, what about a cup of Peruvian Organic coffee, Shade Grown and Fairly Traded?

About this Author

Timothy ("Tim") S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him "The Gourmet Coffee Guy."
He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author's website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com
Also visit: http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-lensography-TheGourmetCoffeeGuy

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