Equal Exchange Biosphere Reserve Coffee

by Shane Smith, Outreach Coordinator

In our past newsletters we have highlighted one of our unique coffee choices in the bulk aisle. The biosphere reserve series from Equal Exchange showcases coffee from some of the most wondrous and wild places on the planet. Equal Exchange sources coffee from three national parks that are ecological powerhouses in different corners of the globe. Coffee is an important part of how communities buffering the parks preserve the protected ecosystems. This series highlights coffee from each park - one at a time, over the course of a year. At the Co-op, we are currently on our third coffee in the series, which is available now until May.

CECOVASA (The Organization of Agrarian Coffee Cooperatives of the Sandia Valleys), was founded in 1970, when a group of Peruvian coffee farmers in the Lake Titicaca region came together to avoid selling their beans to exploitative middlemen, and instead process and export their beans collectively. CECOVASA now includes eight coffee co-operative communities that are comprised of mostly Quechuan and Aymara indigenous peoples near the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park and the Tambopata-Candamo Nature Reserve. These communities are very remote, 10 to 15 hours by truck from Juliaca, the nearest city.

On a recent trip to the CECOVASA an Equal Exchange employee described her experience this way. “Most farmers that work the land in these remote places live in or near their village for their entire lives. Their commitment to the environment is not just a backdrop that can be easily altered to be more comfortable; it is an integral part of every moment of their lives.  They constantly meet the direct challenges of this environment, whether it is landslides, poisonous snakes or precariously cut dirt roads into the side of mountains. These everyday challenges directly impact the things they depend on for their livelihood: growing coffee.”

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through their success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.