Description

“Oxfam pays us considerably more than the low market price for yuca in Costa Rica. Coopesarapiquí uses the fair trade premium to set up social projects and to support our coffee growing activities.” A farmer from Coopesarapiqui

Sarapiquí in the north of Costa Rica is one of the country’s poorest regions. In 2009 a severe earthquake caused serious destruction in this area. It ravaged a significant swath of the coffee fields and caused serious infrastructural damage. For the small-scale producers in this region, being part of a cooperative can make all the difference.

Coopesarapiquí unites around 170 farming families from the region. They live primarily from the coffee crop, which they bring to market in partnership with the cooperative. Coopesarapiquí also initiative to provide study grants for the education of its members’ children and makes continual investments in the quality of its end products, such as its fair-trade yuca and banana chips. In doing so they are always looking to adopt the most eco-friendly technology, taking into account their impact on the environment.