Producer Profiles

CECOVASA - Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras Valles Sandia

CECOVASA, or the Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras de los Valles de Sandia was founded in 1970 when a group of coffee farmers in the Lake Titicaca region of Peru came together to better sell their coffee. Members of the organization are primarily part of indigenous Quechua and Aymara descent. Until then, these farmers sold their beans to intermediaries who typically paid less than half of the market price. Today, the cooperative provides a better alternative for producers and is one of the largest small producer organizations in the country. CECOVASA and its nine base cooperatives became Fair Trade Certified TM in 1993, and began to export their coffee directly to U.S. and European markets.CECOVASA also works hard to ensure high quality coffee. In 2012, CECOVASA won the National Coffee Quality Competition in Peru, marking CECOVASA's fifth year of victory in the competition. Close to 50 percent of CECOVASA’s members produce organic coffee, thanks to an organic conversion program that began in 1997.
 

Quotable

“

The work is the most important…There are no special coffees, only extraordinary men who produce excellent coffee.  ”

Marino Yanapa, President of CECOVASA
“

During one harvest season, I turned in about 1,900 pounds of organic Fair Trade coffee to my cooperative, for which I received more than double the market price. I work hard to produce a high-quality product, I receive a good price and I am not harming the environment.  ”

Sabino Coaquira Canazaca, Member

Programs

Marketing and Communications

As one of Peru's largest coffee cooperatives, CECOVASA has a big job to do when it comes to marketing its products. The General Assembly voted in 2007 to invest $14,500 in Fair Trade Premiums for its marketing and communications efforts.

Competition Provides Incentive for Quality

CECOVASA was once again the winner in the National Coffee Quality Competition in Peru.CECOVASA producer Raúl Mamani was the first place winner. 2012 marks the fifth year CECOVASA wins the competition. Recently, CECOVASA has also won other quality competitions including the Coffee of the Year SCAA Award in 2010 and the Rainforest Alliance competition 2010 and 2011. Hard working farmers like Raúl Mamani allowed made cooperative which only produces about one percent of all coffee nationally, the standard for high quality coffee in Peru. Raul, a pioneer in this movement, decided to produce organic coffee in 1998, a time when the price and ability to sell organic coffee was still uncertain. Dedicated to innovation and learning, driven to improve every year, CECOVASA has been able to become one of the highest quality producers of coffee in the country. This is a great example of how small farmers with the support Fair Trade cooperatives can produce top quality coffee.

Investing in Productivity

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 workers in charge of storage and shipment. Cooperative volunteers installed a sewer system, and the cooperative contributed funds to the construction of a hydroelectric plant in nearby Tunquimayo, which supplies energy to the region. With Fair Trade funds, the cooperative was also able to purchase eight computers, five printers and three photocopiers for its office. It also invested in farming equipment including 40 de-pulping machines, 1,000 pruning saws, and three humidity scales to help maintain de-pulping machines in excellent conditions.