CEPICAFE

The Central Piurana de Cafetaleros (CEPICAFE) was founded in March 1995 with 200 members. Today CEPICAFE has grown into a second level non-profit organization which represents coffee and sugar cane producers of the Piuran mountains and the northeast of Peru.  Currently, CEPICAFE consists of 71 base organizations and 8 zonal committees, with a total of 4,811 producers.  In 2007 they  have exported 65 containers of Fair Trade organic coffee and 5 transitional. For 2008 they plan to export 70 containers of FT organic coffee and 5 transitional. They average yield for the organic production is of 10 quintals an hectare. The annual assembly of CEPICAFE is in June and it anniversary is on the 26 of March. Their board is now constituted of Segundo Guerrero Mondragon, president; Pedro Castillo Castillo, secretary; and of Benita Facundo Quevedo, treasurer.  For 2008, their main objective is to sell 100% of their coffee on special market, to strengthen their organization and to establish good commercial alliance.

CENFROCAFE (Central Fronteriza del Norte de Cafetaleros) is one of those farmer organizations who supply Cooperative Coffees' contracts. It was founded in 1999 with 220 small-scale coffee farmers in 11 community-based organizations. Today CENFROCAFE serves 1,480 farmers in 52 organizations. CENFROCAFE families own on average 3 hectares of land, of which half might be under coffee cultivation.  They have an average yield for their organic production of about 15 quintal an hectare. The region spans the lush hillsides of Jaen and San Ignacio provinces with growing altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 1,800 meters. But despite the hard work that has gone into coffee in this prime productive region, farmers continue live under the most rudimentary conditions.

The cooperative alliance between CEPICAFE, OROVERDE and CENFROCAFE, has provided important services to thousands of small-scale farmers (members and non-members alike) in the coffee regions of Northern Peru, who without a strong organization would have otherwise been abandoned without access to even the most basic health, education and other social services.

CENFROCAFE founding member and current president of the producer Board of Directors, Anselmo Huaman Moreto explains: “A huge difference in our lives is that now our children can actually go to school, our coffee is being recognized in the market for the quality we produce, and our members can be proud again to be farmers.”

Through the consolidation of producer organizations under the CEPICAFE umbrella, producers are now active and respected agents for sustainable development in their region. They have worked collectively to improve quality and overall production under certified organic practices, and they have increased their exports from 550 quintales in 1997 to 39,373 quintales into a range of specialty markets over the past 10 years. Farmers also enjoy access to financing and to development projects. This has facilitated the diversification of their production base to include a range of products from brown sugar, marmalades and cocoa to crafts and coffee tourism. 

 A green coffee processing plant, with capacity to include a coffee roasting and packaging plant as well as production and packaging facilities for their alternative products is currently under construction, and expected to be running in early 2007.  For 2008, Cenfrocafe's main priority is to maintain their sells on the special market and to increase their sells of organic coffee

Check out more photos of our producer partner, CEPICAFE

For more information, visit CEPICAFE's website http://cepicafe.com.pe or Cenfrocafe's website www.cenfrocafe.com.pe

Certifications:
Cecooacnor IMO Organic Certificate 2005
Cenfrocafe IMO Organic Certificate 2005
CEPICAFE Bio Latina Organic Certificate 2006
CEPROAP IMO Organic Certificate 2005
CENFROCAFE IMO and BIO Latina Organic Certificate 2007