COOCAMINAS - Cooperativa Pequenos Cafeicultores Poco Fundo

COOCAMINAS, or the Cooperativa dos Pequenos Cafeicultores de Poco Fundo, is one entity within Brazil’s growing community of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee cooperatives. It was chosen to participate, with another 14 Brazilian Fair Trade Certified producer groups, to participate in the 2007-2010 Responsible Sourcing Partnership (RSP) project. The RSP project was a result of a partnership between USAID, Fair Trade USA, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and SEBRAE-MG designed to improve the quality of Brazilian coffee, increase market linkages and raise producer capacity. Through the partnership, COOCAMINAS participated in numerous trainings to improve coffee quality. Events and workshops taught cooperative governance, business management, cupping and post-harvest best practices. Through the RSP project, COOCAMINAS secured funds to purchase new equipment and construct a mobile coffee processing mill. The new infrastructure allows for increased quality control, overall efficiency and lower production costs.