Fondo Paez

Fondo Paez – Café Naftewesh
The Paez (who also call themselves Nasa, or "the people") is the largest indigenous group in Colombia. Their land is in the Cordillera Central – centered around the mountains of the Cauca departamento (state).  Fondo Paez was founded in 1992, with the primary goal of recuperating traditional agricultural knowledge and indigenous culture which had been buried by centuries of conflict and oppression.  Paez community leaders teamed up with Fundacion Colombia Nuestra, a Colombian-based non-profit, to start the "Recovering Agricultural Knowledge" program.  The main cash crop of this region is still coffee, and, to ensure a stable income for their members, Fondo Paez organized community based coffee cooperatives. They became more organized, and, by 2000, they were selling coffee through the Coffee Federation’s Specialty Coffee program. In 2003, they produced seven containers of coffee, both conventional and organic certified.

They currently process, market, and export their coffee through the Federation, but are completely independent in their internal decision-making process. They are governed democratically and are extraordinarily well organized. They have been recently incorporated as an association in Colombia with its own legal identity.

Surprisingly, Fair Trade is still not widespread in Colombia. And even though Fondo Paez had been operating with Fair Trade practices, they did not receive their official FLO certification until 2005. Cooperative Coffees was instrumental in demonstrating to FLO (Fair Trade certifier in Europe) that a Fair Trade market existed in the U.S. for Fondo Paez coffee.

The organization provides technical assistance for quality control and organic production to its cooperative members. Fondo Paez then works with these primary cooperatives to collect coffee and transport it to a nearby beneficio (coffee mill) to be processed. The cooperative retains ownership of the coffee until it reaches the port. The coffee farmers are equal owners in the organization and receive not only the social benefits provided by Fondo Paez, but also retain a much higher percentage of coffee profits.

Fondo Paez is completely committed to the self-sufficiency of their people and have a holistic approach to farming. This is most evident on their farms. Coffee is only one of many crops that are incorporated into a diverse agro-forestry system. Food crops for their own consumption, feed crops for the farm animals, and nitrogen fixing plants for the soil are given equal importance to their cash crops: coffee, sisal, beans, and different tropical fruits.

The members of Fondo Paez have created a sustainable vision for their indigenous communities. This vision is remarkable in and of itself, but the work and successes of this organization are truly extraordinary when viewed within the context of Colombian politics and globalization. From Spanish conquest centuries ago to the armed conflict raging in their territory for the past 40 years, the Paez people have struggled for their lives, their land, and their right to self-determination.

Their board of director is now constituted of :Floresmiro Taochez, President; Angela  Mestizo, Secretary; and Losa Niquinas, treasorer. For 2008, the priorities of Fondo Paez are to consolidate de 24 group present the organisation and promote the 9 new groups; to increase the yield of their coffee production; and to provide some training in administration to the staff of the organization.

Check out more photos of our farmer partner, Fondo Paez.
Fondo Paez - Members Only
Other information on Fondo Paez

Fondo Paez Master Organic Certificate 2007-2008