Dominican Republic - January 2007

Dominican Republic Trip Report

January 28 – February 3, 2007

Prepared by trip participants:

Alternative Grounds – Linda Burnside

Amavida Coffee – Sally Bailey and Jill Schwerin

Larry’s Beans – Jonathan Bonchak (Peaches)

Peace Coffee – Andy Lambert and Ryan Seibold

Cooperative Coffees - Monika Firl and Kamila Hernandez-Firl 

 As a first visit in Dominican Republic and to FEDECARES, our newest producer partner, this trip was set up with the following principal objectives:

1.      Creating direct communication with the producer groups supplying our coffee

2.      Improving our understanding of the overall cooperative climate in Dominican Republic

3.      Learning about the specific proposals and challenges that face coffee farmers and FEDECARES as an umbrella marketing structure.

 
FEDECARES is a well established coop and from our own prior contact and strong recommendations by other FT allies, it is a second-level coop of very good reputation. However, just before departing for the airport, we were already getting the unfortunate news that the pre-ship sample sent for our first container DRF61 had been rejected. So our “easy visit” was already getting complicated.

Fortunately, our planned schedule was also shifting as we landed and our supplier cooperative – Coop Polo (which we originally were scheduled to visit last), had been reprogrammed as our first stop.

Monday, Jan 29 

We depart from Santo Domingo accompanied by Rufino Herrera and Wilson Gonzalez, FEDECARES General Manager and chair of the BoD, respectively.

At our first destination, the community of Polo in the Department of Barahona, we were greeted by an enthusiastic group of coop leaders and farmers. They were eager to show us their processing plant and explain their history.  But instead, we started the conversation off with the problem at hand of having a twice-tested sample – now definitely rejected.

After a bit of back and forth, with some interesting speculation on how the coffee might have become contaminated, we came to an understanding and an agreement to reject the lot and expect a prepared pre-ship sample from an alternative lot.

The dangers of fermentation were readily apparent.  They have horrible storage conditions (green beans in thick plastic bags!) and let humid coffee sit around way too long.  We learned that the farmers only let their pergamino dry on their patios for 1-3 days (versus 5 days in other countries) before transporting it to the warehouse. Some farmers estimated that at peak periods, pergamino might be transported with up to 40% moisture. They use visual and physical clues to estimate when the pergamino is “ready” to transport. We suspect that one of those two issues is the source of those strange fermentation flavours we picked up in the first pre-ship sample.

We learned that some of the coffee is partially dried at the wet processing plant and then brought to this drying facility.  It was unknown how long the coffee was at the wet processing plant but it was evident at the drying facility that at peak periods, they were unable to handle the volume of coffee brought to that facility.  Therefore, they would rotate the coffee on and off the drying patios before the drying process was complete.

HOWEVER, we think there is great potential and we left the visit very interested and enthused about working with the farmers at Polo. They are eager to learn, and were quick to offer solutions to the problems at hand. We believe with some minor adjustments they could get to a very nice and consistent quality.

 We drove up the hill to the actual community of El Polo, where we had a delicious lunch (serving primarily locally grown vegetables supplied by a woman’s coop and visited their community store and roasted coffee sales outlet run by “Mama Guerra”). From there we drove up the hill to see the coffee in the field and one of the three centrally managed wet-processing plants.

 The challenges facing Polo Coop are both infrastructural as well as technical.  There is definitely an immediate need for additional space on drying patios and or drying tunnels both at the central dry processing plant and possibly also at the three, community wet plants.  The cost for a drying patio is 400 pesos (Us $12) per square meter.

Another immediate need is to get them some moisture content monitors and some training on how to use them, so they can understand the state (quality) of their coffee at all times.  A manual moisture content reader costs approximately US$80. .  They have three vehicles to transport the coffee from wet plants to dry plants, so they have certain logistical challenges. But with good planning and precautionary measures at the wet sites, they should be able to manage. They also need to invest in jute bags to store the processed green coffee, and use plastic only for pergamino. The coffee destined for our contract was being held in plastic bags until the sample was approved – it was rejected, probably for that single detail – before being transferred into the Cooperative Coffees stencilled export bags.

 We think that with minimal efforts to continue supporting this group and offering some basic quality feedback, this could become a solid and enthusiastic partner.

 Another issue exists and seemed somewhat pervasive throughout the DR, the dreaded boring beetle called “Broca”. It is pervasive in the sense that most of the visually defective beans sorted out are an outcome of the beetle problem. Approximately 90% of the coffee damage that comes through the Polo warehouse is damage caused by Broca.

Polo Coop was established in 2000 (same year as joining FEDECARES) and in that year their total produced coffee equalled 250 bags; currently (2006) they are up to 900 bags for export.

Some additional interesting details: 

• They are very proud of their radio station
• We experienced their Polo Magnetico – a magnetic field that would cause the van to move backwards in neutral up a hill – perhaps there is a great grounding effect in the coffee??? J  (but watch your laptops!)

Tuesday, Jan 30

Leave Barahona and travel to visit the community headquarters, coffee processing plants and meet with coop leaders of Neiba and Los Ríos de Independencia.

 We met with Santo Duval of CIEPO, one of the NGOs supporting the processing plant project at Indepencia.  CEIPO assists the coop with technical assistance for the entire process of growing and producing coffee. They also work with various women’s organizations (~55 groups) to help start local healthy local economies. CEIPO also provides technical assistance to farmers growing beans, platanos and livestock as well as training in soil preservation. The organization has access to micro-credit programs to fund the groups whom they serve.

Independencia

• Established in 2000, 124 coffee producers, poorest coffee region (Neyba)
• Using plastic sacks which costs 15 pesos vs. 55 pesos for jute bags (big difference for farmers)
• There is a rotating credit fund: 30 million pesos available, 13 million circulating now providing micro-credits to farmers
• Dominican and Haitian labourers
• Nice processing plant, capacity 5,000 bags, a donation from Oxfam, but not much production coming through the plant yet.
• Big question: How are they distinguishing organic and specialty?
• Problem of building the infrastructure and a lack of training and building organizational structure  
• How can this future be shaped with connection to FEDECARES?

This was a long driving day which included a stop at one of their iguana crossings perhaps being one of the cultural highlights of the trip (aside from our eventual arrival in the community of Los Cacaos, and dinner at Rufino’s house).

Wednesday, Jan 31

We visited the cooperative La Esperanza (ASOCAES) and Rufino’s land, which he has recently purchased with his daughter Celine and will renovate to create a model parcel.

The parcel has the makings for an ideal “model plot” and an area with a holistic vision of coffee farming integrated with eco-tourism and other natural resources (idea of building strong land stewardship values) – an outcome of strong community. At Esperanza, there is a collective experience spanning 20 years. They maintain strong links to education and family, with an awesome attitude towards the work. As Rufino said, “When Hurricane David came through (completely destroying the town), it was a blessing for us… because it taught us the importance of working collectively.”

Here are some general observations:

• Twin rivers, dams (hydro-electric power – state owned), lots of birds and waterfalls
• Coffee roasting at processing facility
• Awesome organizational structure
• Established in 1979 – Hurricane David was mechanism to organize
• Incarnacion Caratera, a Canadian Nun, helped organize a food distribution chain coinciding with UN food drops – kept the community intact and ultimately more connected
• 24 producers growing to 935 current members with 22 base communities and 6 coops (Polo is one of six)
• Once a month meetings – info and updates.  Every 15 days communities meet to prepare for monthly meetings
• FEDECARES is founded in ’85 and in ’91 fair trade becomes part of the vision for ASOCAES
• Currently, 500 producers (~5%) have organic certification, 166 producers in organic transition mode, so hopefully 17% will be certified organic in 2008
• Approximately 95% of the members don’t use chemicals, but they cannot afford organic certification. The coop has internal pricing mechanisms to assist producers with the cost of organic certification.
• Seeing FLO as a poor mechanism, i.e. no response, and beginning to see who their allies are, small scale roasters (Coop Coffees and Café Direct)
• FLO increasingly appears to farmers as concerned with seeing the market grow but not through the viewpoint of producers
• Transfair, CANADA is a possible ally?

FEDECARES

FEDECARES is an old and well-established umbrella organization. They seem to function well and share very similar values and vision as Cooperative Coffees regarding fair trade and sustainable relationships. They have some 7,000 members… yet surprisingly few exports (30+ containers).  They are starting local roasted coffee project with it seems a lot of investment for a very small scale operation - really just looking (for now) at a community level market – primarily because of the daunting Santo Domingo coffee roasting company, purchasing the majority of Dominican coffee and controlling 90 percent of the national market for roasted coffee.

• Established 1985
• They have grown from 1200 members to 7490 members (6000 producers) from 90 provinces and 176 base organizations.
• 15,000 hectares of coffee land, last year 22,300 quintals with 10,750 exported (all F.T.)
• TWIN is another fair trade group importer, overlap with Coop Coffees, potential to double our efforts in tandem with TWIN

Two branches of FEDECARES

1. Social organization
2. Commercial arm - Proco Sur is the marketing arm of FEDECARES working to market the other products that their members produce. They are also helping to create a domestic roasting project to encourage local consumption of FEDECARES coffee (good place to get quality control mechanism in place)

• Currently working on a strategic plan for 2005 to 2010, which has 37 action steps that include: rehabilitation and diversification of farms, social services, management, gender/youth action and marketing.
• Goals for 2007 include: 40-45% certified organic production, awareness of membership and help members through transition to organic.

 
Quality Improvement Program

Back in Santo Domingo, we had a late meeting with CODOCAFE quality improvement project manager Pedro Alcides Morel, and then a very lively dinner with one of their hired Market Specialists, Aldo Gorlani.

This is an interesting time in DR. It looks like they are at the very beginning of trying to create major changes in their quality control systems (and a lot of support money going to marketing and image improvement). CODOCAFE has a cupping lab that is 50 years old and is undergoing upgrades to improve their ability to create the ideal Dominican coffee profile. All coffee for export passes through CODOCAFE for their stamp of approval. CODOCAFE is also currently focusing on assisting producers to increase coffee production.

CODOCAFE just got 17 million Euros (partially a loan, and partially a grant) from the French government which is being spent on hiring 175 quality technicians, training 16 national cuppers and improving marketing linkages.

 They have hired a couple of "marketing gurus", one of whom is Aldo Gorlani, to help improve the image of Dominican coffee. But it seems that what they really need are about 1,000 humidity meters (and training on how to use them) so every community might understand when their coffee is actually stable enough to transport and store. CODOCAFE acknowledges that humidity control is a big challenge in the Dominican Republic.

 
Thursday, Feb 1

We visited ASOCAIN - attempting to get onto the FLO register and wanting us to purchase their first container.  ASOCAIN was established in 1998 following Hurricane George. The cooperative currently has 900 member producers.

It was an interesting meeting with producer representatives and coop leaders as well as a visit of the warehouse and cupping lab.

• 3,200 pesos for 50 kilos = US $2 per kilo for pergamino destined to the local market.
  
• Local market is pretty good, problem of price still fluctuating plus only one big buyer, Santo Domingo Coffee (90% of total DR market)… not so sustainable in that sense that if market conditions change, these guys have no alternatives.
  
• 32 communities, each community has 1 delegate that attends cooperative meetings.
• Lab is through EU funding.
• Drying tunnels from Canadian Embassy.
• CODOCAFE from French Agency loan.
• And a big grant from a Canadian mining group?!?
• Investors and consumers becoming more aware of quality perhaps… there is La Sirena (Walmart), Indoban coffee (more gourmet), and CARFOUR (a French supermarket) Oui, Oui!
• The French seem to like the DR.
• Raise the quality of coffee in DR, roast and sell it locally, giving producers another option besides Santo Domingo Coffee.
• Plus other high quality green goes to organic fair trade market (Europe and US).

Back in Bonao, we met with another group from Jarabacoa that is really in first stages to getting themselves structured for direct marketing.

Friday, Feb 2

Flights home and free time.