El Salvador - ACOES and Las Marias
Asociacion Agropecuaria de caficultores organicos del occidente de el Salvador de RL (ACOES)
Located in the municipality of Tacuba, department of Ahuachapan, ACOES is made up of two cooperatives, La Concordia and Sincuyo. This cooperative is made up of just 20 families, with 15 members in La Concordia and five in Sincuyo. ACOES exported their very first half container of coffee, when we bought 118 bags of coffee from this promising group in early 2008.
Starting with fairly modest goals, ACOES want to maintain the organic certification they have with IMO, obtain Fair Trade certification from FLO, establish additional business relationships with supportive buyers, add more members to their cooperative, protect their natural resources, diversify their economy by eventually producing and selling other agricultural products, renovate their trees, and improve the quality of life for their families.
Cooperative Coffees met with this coop in 2008 through a reference from Prof. Ernesto Mendez, a professor of agroecology at the University of Vermont. Mendez has been working with this group for years, and we were just as impressed by their dedication, hard work, and positive attitude, which have allowed them to survive in the tough and instable political and economic landscape of El Salvador.
According to Mendez, “members of the “La Concordia” cooperative in El Salvador were keen to learn about the ecological processes taking place in their fields, recognising the potential these have for improving their livelihoods”.
Through building fair trade relationships, the families of ACOES have definite plans on how to improve their coffee production and quality of life for their community. Projects to address the malnutrition present in their families, an ecological coffee processing mill, better infrastructure (office, warehouse, galley), water storage, and reforestation are on the agenda.
So far, their sweet, mellow, chocolatey coffee has our roasters raving about the quality of this coffee. We are looking forward to building a long lasting, mutually beneficial partnership
Cooperativa Las Marias
The 50 member cooperative comprises of 28 men and 22 women.
It is located in the western region of El Salvador; in the mountain range of “El Tigre” and “El Limbo” – under the jurisdiction of the township of Las Marías de Chinmeca in San Miguel (department)
Their coffee is grown between 800-900 meters above sea level and is produced organically within a system of production that promotes and protects the ecosystem, the local biodiversity, biological cycles, and the soil’s micro-biotic activities (all subject to certification)
The coffee is certified by BCS (German certifier) and exported to North America through UCRAPROBEX (Union of Cooperatives of Agrarian Reform: producers, processors and exporters)
Despite the coffee crisis of the early 2000’s, the coop has not faltered in its efforts to produce high-quality, certified organic coffee
Part of their production is roasted, ground and marketed in one-pound packages for the local national market. Their brand, “More Coffee” (“Más Café”) is gaining favor as the consumer’s interest in responsible, environmentally-friendly purchasing grows.
Currently, the coop is looking into creating an eco-tourism program with the objective of instilling an appreciation for coffee harvesting and for nature’s biodiversity and seeing the former as a commitment to the latter!
In addition to protecting and preserving the environment, Las Marías is committed to recovering local history by preserving historical artifacts
