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Visiting El Salvador 2011
From September 30 to October 8, 2011, members of Cooperative Coffees travelled to El Salvador to meet with two Coops: APICAFE and Las Marias 93. Present on the trip were Glenn Lathrop from Desert Sun, Monika Firl from Cooperative Coffees, Rebecca Hurlen-Patano from DOMA Coffee, and Julia Baumgartner from Just Coffee.
This trip was sponsored by the US AID Farmer-to-Farmer program, which facilitates technical assistance and information exchange between North and South regions, and we extend our appreciation for their help!
The objectives of this assignment included getting a progress report on production challenges and the application of innovative organic techniques in the coops we visited; evaluating their current wet and dry processing infrastructure and making recommendation to improve internal quality control systems; deepening farmers’ understanding around market realities from a roaster/importer perspective; sharing information on current quality and market expectations; evaluating the coops’ financial needs and making recommendations for current harvest; and finally, getting an update on their market diversification initiatives – including roasted coffee sales and the development of a local coffee shop and direct to consumer sales.
Each cooperative visit broadened our understanding of the challenges small-scale farmers continue to face in order to secure a stable and economically viable market for their products. Lack of timely and adequate pre-financing continues to be one of their biggest obstacles to developing their markets. This lack of access to credit to pre-finance coffee purchases leaves farmers stuck in a vicious cycle of debt with local lenders – who tend to offer credits early in the production season at high interest rates in exchange for a certain amount of coffee at harvest time… negotiated in advance at below the current market exchange prices. In today’s highly fluctuating international market, this leaves farmers at extreme risk.
But despite the many obvious challenges, we were impressed with the advances these organized groups were able to make in the past two years, and we were struck by their continuing positive spirit.
We heard a number of moving stories about the impact organic farming can have. We talked to Sebastian Beltran, whose daughter was failing out of school and had been diagnosed with a learning disorder - until the Beltran family begin producing and consuming only organic produce grown on their land. Sebastian's daughter is now at the top of her class!
All in all, our trip to El Salvador was a very positive experience. We participated in a workshop with FUNDE (the National Development Foundation), we signed a new contract with Las Marias 93 Cooperative, a unique group of 64 coffee farmers, and we met with a huge group of fair traders at the First International Gathering of the Small Producer's Symbol. We had a very instructive, valuable, and productive experience and we're excited for what the future has in store for our producers in El Salvador!
