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Apecaform - Guatemala
Info on other Guatemala cooperatives
Founded: 1992, legalized under Guatemalan law in 1998.
Membership: 400 farmers in 17 communities
Region: Southwestern Highlands San Marcos, Guatemala
on the slopes of volcano Tajumulco (the highest volcano in Central America)
Coffee: Arabica, SHB Certified Organic by Mayacert-Oko Garantie Characteristics: A sweet, clean coffee offers good acidity and body in the cup.
Their annual assembly is between January and March
APECAFORM (Asociación de Pequeños Caficultores Orgánicos Maya-Mames) is comprised of approximately 400 members within in 17 communities. The General Assembly is the highest decision-making authority and is responsible for electing the Board of Directors. The central Board guides and executes the main activities of Apecaform and coordinates tasks with five smaller Boards of Directors, based in community centers.
The central offices are in Pueblo Nuevo which is a two-hour drive to the closest commercial center, the city of San Marcos; and (on average) a 2.5-hour walk from the remaining 17 APECAFORM communities.
APECAFORM has been producing organic coffee since . There are now 366 members under certification and 80 percent of their total production is sold through the cooperative for sale to the Fair Trade market. Cooperative Coffees has purchased coffee from Apecaform through its umbrella marketing organization, Manos Campesinas from the very beginning of the relationship. Manos Campesinas is what's known as a "second-level cooperative" meaning that its members are other coops or unions, like APECAFORM. Much like Coop Coffees does for its members, Manos handles the logistics of contracts and exporting for several different producer organizations in the areas of San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu y Sololá. Through a strategic credit partnership between Root Capital, Apecaform and Cooperative Coffees, producers have been able to tremendously increase direct Fair Trade sales over the last several years.
APECAFORM's achievements due to direct fair trade sales include:
• Purchase of land and construction of a central warehouse in Malacatan
• Creation of a community fund to help finance their system of organic technicians and coordinators.
Their goals for the future:
• To construct a wet processing plant in each of the five community centers;
• To administer a timely credit fund capable of offering producers adequate pre-financing.
• To increase their membership
Check out more photos from our farmer partner, Apecaform.
To learn more about their umbrella marketing organization here is a link to their website.
