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An Inspiring Visit to Colombia |
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Written by Phyllis Robinson, Producer Relations Coordinator
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In early November, I had the opportunity to visit a group of small-scale coffee farmers
that Equal Exchange has been working with for 12 years, the Alto Occidente Coffee
Cooperative of Caldas (CCAOC). It was my first trip to Colombia and I was hoping to
gain a better sense of the country's current political and social issues and the impact of
our government's policies on their people. I was particularly excited to get out to the
countryside and meet the farmers who have been providing Equal Exchange with some of
the best tasting coffee on the market!
"Aren't you scared to visit Colombia?" was the question I was most often asked
before my trip. Mention Colombia in the U.S. and there's a good chance it will elicit this
kind of reaction. Understandably so - the country has been enmeshed in a violent
conflict for approximately 50 years, the longest and most protracted in Latin America.
Two to three million Colombians are internally displaced due to the violence. Roughly
40,000, the majority of which were civilians, have been killed since 1990 alone.
The U.S. government is heavily involved in the "war against drugs" through its "Plan
Colombia". We supply the country with the highest amount of military aid, after Egypt
and Israel. One of the strategies employed to destroy the coca crops is aerial spraying of
pesticides. Unfortunately it also destroys legal crops, food and livestock, and causes
health problems for the rural population living nearby. At least one coffee cooperative
located in Cauca, has lost their organic certification due to aerial spraying of the
herbicide, Roundup. As it takes years of hard work and costly fees for a cooperative to
become certified, this was a huge setback for the farmers.
There is no doubt that the situation in Colombia is a difficult and complex one, and as
tax-paying citizens it is important to pay attention to the actions of our government and
the impact of its policies. Nevertheless, every day millions of Colombians are working
hard to build a better future for their families and their communities. CCAOC farmers
are an example of an organized group of innovative and committed individuals; through
the support of their cooperative and trading partners, they are showing another way forward.
These farmers are our partners and I wanted to know more about them: How are they
doing? What are their goals? Are their lives improving now that they are working
together in a cooperative? How do they view their relationship with Equal Exchange?
What impact does this relationship have on their quality of life, their families and
communities? What are their hopes for the future and are we helping them realize those
dreams?
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Members of ASPROCAFE's Youth Program funded through Fair Trade premiums. Sons and
daughters of farmers participate in income- generating projects that enable them to stay with
their families on the reserves. "Nuestra Señora Candelaria de La Montaña", Riosucio, Caldas.
José Julio Bañol Bañol (former Governor of the Indigenous Reserve "Nuestra Señora
Candelaria de la Montaña") and Alberto Antonio Bañol Bañol, La Florida, Riosucio, Caldas.
Children playing in front of the school which is supported through the sales of coffee.
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Building strong relationships; helping cooperatives - and communities – develop.
Our relationship with CCAOC is a strong one, and continues to grow both in scope and in
size: in 1995, we bought our first container of coffee. In 2002, we bought five. This
year, consumer demand continued to grow and we were able to purchase 13 containers!
With every container of coffee we buy at above market prices, we are helping the farmers
to stay on their land, provide for their families, invest in their cooperative, improve their
communities, and gain economic power in the marketplace.
How do our purchases help the farmers? As part of the Fair Trade system, buyers pay
cooperatives an above-market price for their coffee. Included in this price is a five
cent/pound premium which the cooperative allocates for social programs. Members vote
on the programs to implement each year in their General Assembly. In the case of
CCAOC, a separate organization called the Small-Scale Coffee Farmers Association
(ASPROCAFE) Ingrumá was created to manage these programs. A dedicated staff,
comprised of social workers, agronomists, organizers, gender specialists and youth
workers carry out an impressive range of income-generating and social programs for
women and youth, educational programs, such as scholarships and school lunches, and
environmental preservation and organic farming projects.
The fastest way to get to Riosucio, where the coop has its headquarters, is to fly to Caldas
and then drive east for several hours. On the way, I stopped in Ansermo to tour the dry mill
where our coffee is processed. The mill's manager, Antonio Restrepo, told me that just three
years ago the journey was a dangerous one. Roadblocks and the threat of kidnappings kept
visitors away, and made the delivery of coffee from the coop to the mill unpredictable and
costly. The situation today has vastly improved and coop members expressed relief.
I continued on to the bustling town of Riosucio to meet with representatives of the CCAOC
and ASPROCAFE. During my four days in Caldas, I met with the staff and Board of
Directors of the cooperative, spent time at the mill and the Quality Control Lab, toured
many coffee farms, and met with the farmers. I left deeply impressed.
The majority of ASPROCAFE's 3300 members are Embara Chambi indigenous people
who live on four reserves on the outskirts of Riosucio. It was clear that the staff, many of
whom come from the reserves, had a deep sense of commitment towards the members and
that the farmers felt much ownership and pride in the cooperative. Women and youth have
a high level of participation in the cooperative and women hold strong positions of
leadership in the office. It was also inspiring that so many cooperative members knew
about Equal Exchange and had the confidence in our relationship to ask questions and
express their views.
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A very impressive and well-resourced school built by the national and local governments, and supported
through Fair Trade premiums. La Montaña, Riosucio.
The "School Restaurant" kitchen where nutritious lunches are prepared. Fair Trade premiums provide monthly stipends for the children most in need.
The Fair Trade premium goes into a credit program to help youth buy and raise farm animals.
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A meeting with ASPROCAFE members, "La Montaña" Reserve, Riosucio, Caldas
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Food Security, Organic Farming, and Environmental Preservation
During the coffee crisis, when the price of coffee on the world market barely covered the
costs of production, many farmers abandoned their coffee and went to the cities looking
for work. Those who remained behind lacked the resources to maintain and invest in
their farms. Today, the price of coffee has risen, but unfortunately years of neglect have
taken their toll and production is far below what it should be. In Caldas, many of the
coffee trees are old, density per acre is low, and soils are depleted. Deforestation and
poor land use management have caused additional problems: soil erosion, land and
mudslides, water contamination, and changing weather patterns.
While discussions about Fair Trade often focus on the higher price paid to farmers,
initiatives aimed at raising crop productivity can be equally if not more important.
Consequently in 1998, ASPROCAFE created an Organic Coffee Program to increase
yields, diversify incomes, improve family nutrition, and protect both the health of farmers
and the environment. Today, they have 451 active members who produce four containers of organic coffee each year. Equal Exchange buys their entire production and pays them an additional premium above the fair trade price for this coffee.
The program aims to replace old coffee trees with newer, higher-yielding varieties, increase
tree density, and encourage the planting of fruit trees. Technical assistance and trainings
are provided to teach the farmers environmentally sustainable practices which protect their
water sources and enrich the soils. Another component focuses on "food security":
women are taught organic gardening and how to make natural pesticides and organic
fertilizers. A revolving loan fund enables the women to buy farm animals which are used
to diversify their diets and their income sources; the manure is used to make organic
fertilizer. It is also combined with the discarded coffee pulp to produce cooking gas.
According to Zorayda Castillo, Lutheran World Relief's Colombia Program Director,
many farmers in Colombia lack interest in organic farming because it is difficult and
costly. Yet, when she visited ASPROCAFE and spoke with the farmers, she was deeply
impressed with their convictions about the need to protect the water and land. When she
asked what food security meant, one farmer responded, "Food for the earth, food for the
animals, and food for humans. All three are very important and they are all connected."
After hearing about ASPROCAFE's Organic Coffee Program, I wanted to talk to as many
farmers as I could and to visit their farms to see how they were getting along. Two of
ASPROCAFE's staff people, Maria Rocio Motato and Luz Marina Hernandez,
accompanied me to the reserves. Below are just two of the many inspiring stories I heard:
The idea was to stop by Doña Julia's for a short visit. But when she and her son learned
that I came from Equal Exchange – "the people who buy their coffee" – they were so
excited to show me their work that the visit lasted the better part of the day. I didn't mind
– the renovations they were doing on their farm were fascinating; their pride was
contagious - and Mauricio had us all laughing at his jokes about the "Green Revolution
people" (a reference to the movement that began in the 1960s, promoting the use of
chemicals and technology to solve world's hunger.)
They live alone on the farm. Doña Julia's husband left many years ago and her three
other children are attending school in Riosucio. It is expensive, but the extra money she
makes selling Fair Trade, Organic coffee has enabled them to continue. Mauricio
originally stayed to help her manage the farm and then discovered he had an affinity for
organic farming and a passion for the environment. He plans to study agronomy some
day, but for now he's totally absorbed in the hands-on training that he is receiving
through ASPROCAFE. "I'm not just studying farming and environmental preservation,
I'm practicing it. And we're seeing the results. Our water comes from a natural spring
and is crystal clean. We are raising our own animals and using their waste to make gas.
We no longer have to buy fuel for cooking – we make our own."
Mauricio was very proud of their efforts to protect their natural resources. Throughout
the day, he would point to the mountain where neighbors were growing coffee under full
sun. He'd refer to them as "the Green Revolution people," who are "contaminating our
water and our land". Each time he showed us some innovative new technique he was
employing, he'd point and offer a new critique about those "Green Revolution people".
We couldn't help laughing at his jokes and his enthusiasm.
They showed us the "live barriers" they have planted to separate their farm from their
neighbors and to prevent soil erosion. They have started a nursery and will soon be
renovating the coffee with healthy, new trees. Interspersed with the coffee, they are
planting citrus trees, plantains and bananas, avocados and other fruit trees which provide
shade for the coffee, habitat for the birds, and lots of fruit – much of which we sampled
on our way through the farm.
We stopped to look at the wooden structures covered with plastic they built to grow
gardens. ORGANIC tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes - all grown in rows,
interspersed with herbs.... rosemary, sage, mint, cilantro - and medicinal plants. There
were "aromatics", whose sole purpose was to keep insects away from the vegetables or to
use as compost for making organic fertilizer for the coffee. With each new herb or plant
they showed me, they'd tell me exactly what it was for and how to prepare it.
It rains a lot in this part of the country and Mauricio and his mother showed me
additional structures that ASPROCAFE helped them build to make and store organic
fertilizer and natural pesticides. They have an area with worms that help to break down
the compost. They have chickens and rabbits to make fertilizer, and for an occasional
meal. And as Mauricio pointed out, everything they are eating and recycling comes from
their farm.
"Everyone says how hard it is to grow organic, but look, we're doing all this ourselves -
before, we didn't know anything. But with help from the coop, and our partnership with
you, our buyers, we feel excited about the future, so many things are possible."
Talk about inspiration: Doña Lucia is a single mother who raised five children on her
own under very difficult circumstances. Today she lives by herself on her tiny plot of
land; her children are all in town studying. Originally from the city, she couldn't find any
way to support herself and her family. So, she moved to Riosucio and soon heard about
the cooperative. "I didn't know anything about farming. I'd never grown anything
before; I didn't even know how to grow a tomato," she told me, laughing.
It was hard to believe looking around at her farm – just half an acre but teeming with coffee
bushes, fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants. "I owe everything to
ASPROCAFE," she repeated over and over. "They saved my life. They trained me; they
gave me seeds, loans to get started." Rocio and Luz Marina, protested, "No Doña Lucia,
it was your hard work and initiative that got you where you are today."
She got teary-eyed as she told me of her struggles to feed her family. "We moved here
and were living in a shack. The walls were made of tin; we just had a dirt floor. But I
sold my coffee to the coop and after awhile I had earned enough to fix up the house."
She pointed to the cement floor, painted a bright, cheery red. Flowering bushes were
planted throughout her yard, plants and flower pots hung from the ceiling; even the
mountain path leading to her house was lined with bright-colored asters and geraniums.
The pride she took in her home and farm was evident, shown with every detail... and
like Mauricio and his mother, her laughter and gratitude were infectious.
With exuberant amounts of energy and enthusiasm, she showed us her Organic fruits and
vegetables, neatly planted rows of coffee, the pens of animals: pigs, chickens and rabbits.
These were all bought on credit through the Women's Program. After six months, Doña
Lucia had enough money to repay her loan, buy more animals and another small plot of a
neighbor's abandoned coffee farm. (It was a one year loan with no interest, but she said
she didn't want to keep money that wasn't hers one day longer than necessary.) She
showed me how she used the waste from the coffee pulp and the animals to fabricate gas
for cooking. "I'm also growing sugar cane, beans, and corn. Now I never have to go
into town! I grow everything I need right here on my own farm. Cooking oil and salt are
the only things I need to buy." I was deeply moved... and sincerely impressed.
Everything she grew was organic and I was curious to know why. She lifted her hands
and held them out to me. "You see my hands? They're covered in dirt. But they're no
longer burnt from the chemicals. And my land? It's time to give back to the earth a part
of what I take from the earth."
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A hillside completely stripped of trees.
Soil erosion can lead to landslides during heavy rains.
Debris and remains of a bridge washed away in a heavy landslide. Several houses were also destroyed as was the only road leading from the reserve into town.
"Why should I go to town and buy contaminated food when I can grow everything I need right here, and it's organic?"
- Don Roberto Motato, Organic Coffee Farmer, La Montaña, Riosucio, Caldas.
Don Roberto Motato washing his coffee. The discarded pulp is used to make organic fertilizer and gas for cooking. After the coffee is washed, pipes carry the "honey water" to special areas so that it will not be absorbed into the soil or drinking water.
Doña Eva Julia Diaz Alarcan and her 18-year old son Andres Mauricio, "San Lorenzo" Reserve, Riosucio.
"A Green Revolution farm" up-hill from Doña Julia: growing coffee under full sun with the help of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Doña Ana Lucia Bañol, "La Montaña" Reserve, Riosucio, Caldas, Colombia
With the extra income she earned from the sale of her coffee, Doña Lucia fixed up her house and put in a cement floor.
Doña Lucia showing her farm where everything she grows is organic.
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Taking and giving back.
I know how fortunate I am to have a job that enables me to
travel to rural farming communities and meet people such as Doña Lucia, Doña Julia and
her son Mauricio, Don Roberto and his family, and the cooperative leadership and staff
such as Rocio and Luz Marina, who give of themselves so generously and tirelessly to
help move the projects forward. It also reinforced for me the pride I feel being part of a
worker-owned cooperative that is committed to small-scale farmers and alternative ways
of doing business. If you are interested in supporting the efforts of these Colombians,
you can do so by buying Equal Exchange Organic Colombian Full City Coffee (also
available in decaf!) and by learning more about the situation in Colombia and U.S.
foreign policy. For more information, go to these web sites:
Witness for Peace – witnessforpeace.org
Lutheran World Relief – lwr.org
AFSC – afsc.org
Peace Brigades International – pbi.org
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