Producer Profiles

COCASAM - Cooperativa de Caficultores Sanmarqueña

COCASAM, or the Cooperativa Cafetalera Sanmarqueña, was founded in 1988 by 16 small coffee producers and recognized legally in October 1990 by the National Honduran Institute of Cooperatives (IHDECOOP). Their farms are located in the mountainous region of San Marcos de Colón, historically the first place in the country to produce coffee, at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,600 meters. COCASAM prides itself in their traditional practices, using production methods first introduced by French and German immigrants from the past century. The cooperative works to primarily produce high quality coffee while protecting their environment and improving the livelihoods of farmer families and the community. They were Fair Trade Certified TM in 1993.
 

Quotable

“

Thanks to the projects the cooperative has completed from stable Fair Trade prices, we have been able to reconstruct the hopper and stacks in the wet-milling process of my coffee.  ”

Maria Antonia Estrada
“

Fair Trade assures us competitive and fair prices in the cooperative and eliminates the intermediaries who cannot compete with our organization.  ”

Ramon Antonio Corrales

Programs

Easing School Accessibility for Kids

COCASAM financially supports the local education system by providing incentives for children living in rural areas to stay in school. The cooperative uses Fair Trade revenue to purchase school supplies, provide transportation and award academic excellence scholarships to low-income children.

Dry Milling Machinery Project

In 2007, COCASAM finalized a project they began three years prior. With Fair Trade revenues, the cooperative successfully financed machinery for dry milling comprised of a threshing machine, elevators, hoppers, a metric density classifier and a manual sorting belt.