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Farmer Tour: Juan Jesus Castillo |
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 Juan Jesus Castillo is a small-scale coffee farmer from the village of Sapse in the Northern region of Peru, where he and his wife Silvia Meza Santos farm three acres of organic coffee. They harvest over 2,000 pounds per year, and also grow citrus and banana trees, and raise animals.
Juan serves as President of the Sub-Regional Committee of Producer Associations of Los Ranchos (known locally as the Zonal). As president of the board he leads the directors in developing programs for the 230 farming families organized into six village-level co-operatives. The programs provided by the Sub-Regional Committee include a pre-harvest financing program, a farm improvement financing program, peer-to-peer organic farming audits, organic farming training programs, and the community vegetable garden (run in collaboration with the local Mothers Club). Juan's community of Sapse is part of a much larger regional co-op called CEPICAFE, which has over 6,800 members in northern Peru.
As part of Equal Exchange’s continuous efforts to connect producers and consumers, the Western Sales Office took a select group of store managers to live and work with CEPICAFE members in August 2007. Juan and Silvia hosted two Equal Exchange customers, Ming Chang of Sunny Farms Country Store in Sequim, Wash., and Jeff Watson, of Lifesource Natural Foods in Salem, Ore., for a two-night homestay. Both Ming and Jeff harvested coffee, worked at the depluping machine, and learned about Juan’s efforts to build the co-operative movement in northern Peru. Their experiences and the experiences of other members of the tour are profiled in six published articles which can be read at www.equalexchange.coop/in-the-media.
The trip created a connection that participants wanted to continue beyond the visit. So in May 2008, Equal Exchange invited Juan to make his first trip out of Peru and visit our communities in the United States.
The trip began with a visit to Minneapolis, where Juan attended the Specialty Coffee Association of America annual meeting. There, he saw first-hand what the other side of the coffee industry looks like, talking with roasters and fellow producers from around the world.
Next, Juan traveled to Berkeley, Calif., where he visited Chico Natural Foods Co-op, Mother Truckers and El Cerrito Natural Foods. He ate homemade Peruvian food prepared by his hosts, as well as new ethnic foods like Pad Thai. Juan also presented to a group of Fair Trade supporters from Chico, where he explained the impact Fair Trade has on the day-to-day lives of his community. “With Fair Trade, we have more self-respect and we have the ability to better our lives. It is not a hand-out; it is a partnership of equals,” Juan said.
After three days in the bay area and a visit to Chinatown in San Francisco, the group was off to Seattle, where Juan met with store representatives from the region. He presented to the grocery staff at the Port Townsend Food Co-op. There he explained that like the Port Townsend store, Juan’s community was also organized into a co-operative. In his region, Juan is the president of the 230-family organization, which meets monthly. The community is very active in the sale of their coffee, and invests premiums in education and improving local conditions.
The next stop was the Sunny Farms Country Store. Ming Chang from Sunny Farms, who stayed with Juan in Sapse, organized three separate farm visits for Juan. The group visited Nash Family Farms, Sunny Farms and the Dungeness Valley Creamery. At each stop, Juan met local organic farmers, and the discussion turned easily to farm methods and techniques. Jeff Brown and Juan talked about the possibility of a root cellar in Sapse to cool the milk from the cows. Without electricity in the community, this could provide a way to keep the milk fresh longer.
From Washington, Juan traveled to Oregon, where he was a presenter at the annual Portland Veg Fest. He spoke to attendees about Fair Trade and the role of co-ops in setting the Fair Trade standard. Juan was asked if producers had a voice in the Fair Trade standards. He replied, “The producer co-ops are directly involved with the Fair Trade standard. We are in solidarity each other and the Fair Trade movement. By being participants in this system, our co-operatives are stronger.”
Juan wanted people to know about ways CEPICAFE is diversifying their production to strengthen their position. In addition to coffee, the co-op is also producing sugar, jam and cacao. These are newer markets for CEPICAFE and their vision is to build on the success of coffee by expanding their agricultural export base in the Fair Trade market.
Juan’s last stop on his trip was to Life Source Natural Foods. Life Source was hosting a community event that day with food samples, speakers and music. Juan spoke with shoppers about Fair Trade and what life is like in Sapse, Peru. He was also interviewed by the Capital Press for an article about his visit. After a full day at the event, Juan retired for the night at a home stay with Equal Exchange’s Roxanne Magnuson and Life Source's Jeff Watson, who both stayed with him in Sapse. In the morning, he went fishing on the Santiam River with Jeff piloting the boat. As fate would have it, Juan caught the largest and only fish of the day.
If you are interested in drinking coffee from Juan’s co-op, you are in luck. Equal Exchange roasts a number of origin and blend coffees from CEPICAFE and northern Peru. Try Organic Peru Medium and Organic Peru French, Organic French Roast, and Organic Midnight Sun.
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Our Co-op 
