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New Projects at CEPICAFE
CEPICAFE's got a lot of exciting new projects underway at the moment. The Peruvian non-profit organization is working hard to diversify its production in order to maximize the communities’ incomes and develop their economy. Apart from their traditional production of coffee and cacao, CEPICAFE has started the exportation of cane sugar, jams and candied fruits. They also have an eco-tourism project going on.
Before the panela (cane sugar) project, the sugar cane around CEPICAFE’s region was seen as nonprofitable, useless crop by the community. They have worked earnestly on improving quality to make it acceptable for the export market. They have gotten the strong support of a company in France, Ethiquable, who has provided them with much of the necessary financing for equipment, and to work with them on quality. This company in France is now selling their panela in many grocery stores and Coop Coffees member has begun to import the sugar and jam into Canada.
The project of production and exportation of jam was initiated in March 2006 by small producers in the 
region of la Sierra de Piura. The purpose of this project was to give additional incomes for producer members of CEPICAFE with raw material already growing in their fields. They now use the fruits of their lands to make jams of comparable quality from the other ones on the market. The jams are made with 40% of sugar and 60% of fruits, entirely with natural conservatives and without chemical additives. They are sold in many supermarkets in France, through Ethiquable. Producers then had the original idea of making candied fruits with the peel left from the production of orange and lime jam.
Even though Northern Peru has not traditionally been an attractive region for tourists, CEPICAFE has set up a hostel and created an eco-tourism project. Guests can tour the coffee farms and participate in the harvesting of coffee cherries. Also, they have created alliances with producer groups close to the coast, where they grow mangoes and other fruits, where tourists can also go visit.
CEPICAFE is a great example of creativity and its producers continue to find new ways of maximising their production and incomes using the resources available. Cooperative Coffees is proud to maintain good partnership relation with this producer organization and wishes that their exportation projects will continue growing.
Click her to visit CEPICAFE's website
