CEPICAFE

Fast Facts on CEPICAFE
-Founded March 25, 2995 in the city of Piura
-Umbrella organization that represents 6600 coffee, sugar, and fruit 
  producers grouped in 90 separate organizations in Northwestern Peru

Central Piurana de Cafetaleros (CEPICAFE)
 
CEPICAFE was founded in March 1995 with 200 members. Today the group has grown into a second level non-profit organization which represents coffee and sugar cane producers of the Piuran mountains and the northeast of Peru.  Currently, CEPICAFE consists of 71 base organizations and 8 zonal committees, with a total of 4,811 producers.  In 2007 they  have exported 65 containers of Fair Trade organic coffee and 5 transitional. For 2008 they plan to export 70 containers of FT organic coffee and 5 transitional. They average yield for the organic production is of 10 quintals an hectare. The annual assembly of CEPICAFE is in June and it anniversary is on the 26 of March. Their board is now constituted of Segundo Guerrero Mondragon, president; Pedro Castillo Castillo, secretary; and of Benita Facundo Quevedo, treasurer.  For 2008, their main objective is to sell 100% of their coffee on special market, to strengthen their organization and to establish good commercial alliance.

The cooperative alliance between CEPICAFE, OROVERDE and CENFROCAFE, has provided important services to thousands of small-scale farmers (members and non-members alike) in the coffee regions of Northern Peru, who without a strong organization would have otherwise been abandoned without access to even the most basic health, education and other social services. 

Through the consolidation of producer organizations under the CEPICAFE umbrella, producers are now active and respected agents for sustainable development in their region. They have worked collectively to improve quality and overall production under certified organic practices, and they have increased their exports from 550 quintales in 1997 to 39,373 quintales into a range of specialty markets over the past 10 years. Farmers also enjoy access to financing and to development projects. This has facilitated the diversification of their production base to include a range of products from brown sugar, marmalades and cocoa to crafts and coffee tourism. 

Check out more photos of our producer partner, CEPICAFE

For more information, visit CEPICAFE's website

Find out about CEPICAFE's ally and Coop Coffees trading partner, CENFROCAFE.

Certifications

Trace this coffee's documents at FairTradeProof.org