Picture this: a tree full of a dozen chickens and roosters in branches laden with oranges against a brilliant star lit sky.  This tree stood in the barnyard of a farm where a group of five women from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Equal Exchange delegation spent two nights this past January.  It was one of our first sights at Luis and Elsa Castillo’s farm in Boaco, Nicaragua; and for me it’s an image that captures the beauty and tranquility that we found there.

The five of us were part of a fifteen member delegation to Nicaragua, visiting a primary co-operative called El Tesoro in Boaco. We had just made our way in the dark up the mountain using flashlights to avoid stumbling over rocks and tree roots. To our intermittent question, “ Donde esta tu casa, senor?”  (Where is your house, sir?)  Luis Castillo, answered repeatedly, “ Muy muy cerca.” (Very very close) something we soon stopped believing. The trip up the mountain was an adventure that lasted over an hour.

The five delegation members who made the climb: Melanie Hardison, PC(USA), Susan Sklar EE, Cari Senefsky EE, Kate Hopta from OH, and Cindy Shepherd from IL

When we finally reached the top of the mountain– both exhausted and relieved– the farm was inspiring.  The excited Castillo family welcomed us with open arms. Elsa fixed us generous plates of tortillas, chicken stew, rice, and cheese which she had cooked over a wood fire stove. There was no running water or refrigeration; the kitchen had a dirt floor; there were only a few electrical lights; but it felt like home.  That night the five of us accepted accommodations in the family’s small bedroom while they found spots for themselves in other parts of the house.

Luis and Elsa Castillo and their children Anya and Ricardo

In the morning light we saw the entire menagerie: a small herd of cows and calves,  horses, geese, a pig,  dogs, fruit trees, a flower garden, as well as wet mill and coffee drying racks. Luis and Elsa’s farm was the picture of success. We realized that the fact that there were many animals, diversification of crops, and growth was partly due to the Fair Trade premiums distributed by the larger Tierra Nueva Co-op. Fair Trade brought the Castillos, like the other co-op members, access to the U.S. and European organic coffee markets.

Co-operatives, like Tierra Nueva, are the foundation of the Fair Trade system. If not for co-ops, coffee producers whose farms are often located in remote mountainous areas would  be isolated from one another and the market. Once organized into a co-operative, farmers can pool their incomes to set up an office with computers, and Internet services to ensure access to current pricing information, a phone, and a fax machine. The farmer members participate in democratic decision- making that leads to mutually beneficial financial practices.  They are also the recipients of such resources as grants for planting and quality control training.  The co-op helps the farmers to become more competitive and effective.

Norman Aguilar with his mechanized depulper

The next day the delegation members picked coffee cherries at another successful farm: the home of Norman and Jocanda Aguilar and their four children. Norman showed us his wet mill—where the red coffee cherries are separated from the beans— the only motorized de-pulping machine in the El Tesoro co-operative. He was able to install the machine as a result of a loan from the Tierra Nueva co-op. It has saved him time and money since he has to pay fewer workers during the de-pulping stage, and it goes faster.

At Norman’s farm, we saw an area planted with hundreds of new seedlings, part of the Planting Trees for Life Project sponsored through the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Small Farmer Fund with Equal Exchange.  Two years ago, Tierra Nueva, which has a total of 8 co-ops and just over 600 members, established this project to provide its farmers with several hundred thousand coffee seedlings to replace older non-productive trees. They have also propagated 125,000 citrus, cacao, and shade trees which contribute to the biodiversity of the organic farms; these trees help the coffee plants thrive and make them more pest-resistant. The families can consume the fruit.

However, Tierra Nueva’s biggest achievement to date has been the construction of the new regional dry mill and honey processing facility which started in 2008 as the result of profits from Fair Trade premiums.  Before then, the co-op had to truck the de-pulped beans miles away to a sister co-op’s dry mill for the next stages of processing. The co-op members were proud to show us the three sturdy cement block buildings built in 2008 and 2009 where workers are establishing a coffee drying patio which will be completed this coming year.

One of the buildings at Tierra Nueva's new dry mill facilities

The dry mill is the place where farmers take their beans which have already gone through the first stages of de-pulping, fermenting, sorting, and drying.  At the dry mill or “beneficio seco,” the beans are dried in the sun for eight days. Then the outer layer or parchment is mechanically removed and the beans are hand-sorted again and stored for at least one month in order to stabilize the level of moisture which eliminates fungus.  There is a quality control laboratory to test the flavor profiles of the beans. After these last steps, the coffee is loaded into 150 lb. burlap sacks and taken to the dock for export.

Delegate members cupping coffee at the Tierra Nueva quality control laboratory at the dry mill

Last year at Tierra Nueva, new initiatives were instituted to facilitate gender equality so that women could start their own businesses and contribute economically to their families. A new Women’s Institute was established which will graduate a class of 130 women this spring. As a result of these initiatives, women have formed their own honey co-operative. The honey is collected trucked to the facility, left in barrels so that the sediment is separated out and bottled in a new building at the dry mill.  Juan Mora Rocha, President of Tierra Nueva proudly explained to the group that the dry mill has been a critical step in the economic development of the co-op.  When Tierra Nueva finishes this facility he said, “it will complete the chain of production.”  This means that the small coffee and honey farmers will have more control over their products from harvest to export.

The Presbyterian Church(USA) /Equal Exchange delegation was made up women and men from eleven different states across the U.S., with a range of ages, and included seven pastors.  For all of us, visiting the farmers was a moving experience—but for different reasons. Some folks were surprised by “primitive living conditions,” which included outhouses, few pieces of furniture, and a plethora of insects.  Others felt at a loss at not knowing Spanish or were touched to see a different culture so close up.  One group member spoke of being affected by a farmer who spoke to him about how he always thinks about those who have less than he does. We were all profoundly moved by the fact that due to Fair Trade, the work of Equal Exchange, the Tierra Nueva co-operative and our faith-based partnerships, the farmers of El Tesoro are thriving on their land and they are able to plan and build a future for themselves and their children.

Most of us don’t think too much before we light up our stoves in preparation for cooking a meal. Yet, unfortunately, this daily activity which nourishes our bodies and brings families and communities together, can also severely impact the health of rural women in the Global South. The quantity of smoke they’re breathing and the amount of time they spend in their kitchens adds up over the course of a lifetime. In fact, respiratory illnesses are one of the most common maladies that afflict the rural poor in Central America.

It’s not just the health of women that suffers through this manner of cooking, however. As you can see from the photos above, it also takes a lot of firewood to keep temperatures hot. The constant gathering of ever more firewood is not only an exhaustive chore, but is also one of the primary causes of deforestation in the countryside. Ultimately deforestation causes a host of other environmental problems, such as soil erosion, decreased rainfall and water yields, as well as loss of wildlife habitat. We now know that the rapid rate at which we’re destroying our forests is contributing to global climate change and more severe and more frequent natural disasters.

But in Boaco, Nicaragua, the Tierra Nueva Union of Co-operatives is changing all this. “We have to reduce our firewood consumption. The biggest drain on the forest is the need for firewood, so we’re going to help our members acquire new fuel-efficient stoves that will eliminate the need to cut down so much wood,” explains Pedro Rojas, president of Tierra Nueva.

Two years ago Equal Exchange and our Interfaith partner, Presbyterian U.S.A., funded a small reforestation, environmental protection, and food security project created by the Tierra Nueva Union of Co-operatives. This organic, Fair Trade coffee and honey co-operative has a long-standing partnership with Equal Exchange. After a visit several years ago, when we repeatedly heard from the farmers how proud they were of their efforts to protect their fragile eco-systems and saw how committed their president, Pedro Rojas, was in taking measures to conserve their natural resources, Equal Exchange and Presbyterian U.S.A. decided it was time to do our part as well. And so, the project, “Planting Trees for Life in Nicaragua”  was born and funded.

This past month, Dana Welch from our Minnesota office, and I visited Tierra Nueva to see how they were doing, visit with the farmers, and learn how the project was progressing. We had a great visit and we were very pleased with the results. More importantly, so are the farmers!

Less time in the kitchen, smoke in the lungs, and destruction of the forest

Altogether, 70 families located in three communities, San Buenaventura, Las Mercedes and Filas Verdes, have benefitted from the project. Sixteen families received new fuel-efficient stoves which not only require less firewood, but diminish cooking time, and channel the smoke out of the house through the use of chimneys. The women say they can’t believe how different they feel without the constant smoke in the air.

Most families chose to construct the standard size stove, as shown below next to Jessenia and Ezekial. Their mother Celia Davila Medina is a member of the Fuente de Oro (Fountain of Gold) Co-operative.

Of course, if you’re Maria Theresa Mendoza Martinez (shown below with Agueda Ordeñana, Project Coordinator at Tierra Nueva), who proudly cooks delicious organic meals for many of the visitors who come to Filas Verdes… well , you don’t want just any fuel-efficient stove… you’re going to dream up a large, 3-burner… or you’ll pass the whole day in the kitchen just to feed those delegations of Equal Exchange staff, food co-op partners, or Presbyterian friends!

I asked Maria Theresa how she was spending her newly acquired “free” time and she told me that she decided to join the co-operative as a member in her own right. (Previously, only her husband Jacobo Cisneros was a legal member.) In addition, Maria Theresa is participating in a women’s leadership development program and has just graduated from the first set of trainings in micro-enterprise development. She’s considering running a community nursery where other members can purchase young coffee seedlings – but that idea will be further developed in the second phase of the program.

Speaking of nurseries and coffee seedlings…

Through the “Planting Trees for Life”  project, Tierra Nueva established 44 nurseries, in which over 200,000 coffee seedlings were cultivated and distributed to the Tierra Fertil (Fertile Earth) and Fuente de Oro co-op members to help them renovate their farms. Below, on the left, is a coffee nursery. On the right, Marvin Tonico Polanco, Fuente de Oro co-op member, is showing us his beautifully cared for coffee farm complete with new coffee trees.

Marvin’s farm was the organic certifiers dream! Rows of live plant barriers (below), dead barriers (logs and brush) and the use of terracing, protect the soil from erosion. You can see how the barriers also help keep a cover of leaves and other materials which decompose adding nutrients to the soil. The coffee is planted in a row below with plenty of shade above.

Shade for your coffee, fruit in your diet, and some extra change in your pocket

The third part of the project enabled co-op members to receive a total of 5,000 citrus trees (oranges, lemons, and mandarins) to provide additional shade for the coffee and fruit for the families’ consumption. The fruit is also sold in the local market, providing extra income for the families. Below, Karen Ortiz (Tierra Fertil Co-op) shows off a newly planted lemon tree and one already bearing fruit.

Below, her father Ramón, picks some oranges for us and Agueda offers to carry them back to town.

After a full day visiting two communities and five farms, we headed back to Boaco pleased that the project was such a success and that the participants were enthused and eager to continue the project for a second year.

This year, they would like to construct an additional 22 fuel-efficient stoves, reforest 50 hectares of land with 160,000 more coffee trees, 10,000 shade trees (citrus and timber), and 10,000 cacao trees to benefit 80 more families in three co-operatives. The project also contemplates the construction of 30 worm composting tanks to expedite the process of organic fertilizer production for their farms.

Maria Theresa’s son, Jacobo Jr., asked us if we’d like a sneak preview:

Well, we’re convinced. The sustainable farming practices of small-scale coffee growers is certainly conserving our fragile natural resources and protecting local eco-systems. We see the proof on every visit. And if the farmers are protecting our environment, and providing us with delicious high quality, organic coffee at the same time, it seems like the least we can do is consume consciously and support their efforts. Wouldn’t you agree?

For more information about other ways to support small scale farmers, our food system, and the planet, visit our blog at www.SmallFarmersBigChange.coop.

Remember that as part of our campaign in support of Small Farmers, Equal Exchange is donating 20 cents/package for every 12 oz. package of Organic Love Buzz purchased, into our Small Farmer Green Planet Fund. The Fund supports projects in Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia and South Africa.

Donations are also welcome! You can write a tax-deductible check to Grassroots International and send it to Equal Exchange, 50 United Drive, West Bridgewater, MA 02379 (Be sure to write SFGP Fund on the check) or make a credit card donation by clicking the SFGP logo on the sidebar of the blog.

Unfortunately, when visiting our co-operative partners, regardless of which country we’re in, landscapes like the one below are becoming all too common. Here’s a familiar scene from our trip last week to Nicaragua:

But, there’s also a lot being done in farming communities to protect and restore the environment that keeps us hopeful.

Here’s a photo of Marvin Tonico’s farm in the community of Filas Verdes. He is a member of Fuente de Oro (Fountain of Gold), one of eight organic coffee co-operatives that are affiliated through the Tierra Nueva (New Land) Union of Cooperatives located in Boaco and Matagalpa.

You can see the row of coffee in the background, the different species of shade trees above. In the foreground are the “live barriers”, rows of plants used to prevent soil erosion.

Here’s another photo of young coffee bushes planted under the shade canopy:

That’s what Angela Vendetti and her business partner, Jill Fink, heard when they started dreaming about opening Mugshots Café in Philadelphia. “When we were writing our business plan and trying to get Mugshots open, people told us we were crazy for putting our ideals before business sense,” Vendetti explained to John Steele in the Philadelphia Weekly‘s recent article on Mugshots.

Angela has heard this before. She heard it firsthand when we took her and six other Equal Exchange enthusiasts on a trip to Nicaragua to visit our coffee co-operative partner CECOCAFEN in 2005. Pedro Haslam, the former General Manager who has since been elected to the Nicaraguan Senate (but remains President of the Board of CECOCAFEN) let her know she was not alone. “We are a business with a social mission,” he told us in a meeting in Matagalpa. “Unlike traditional businesses we are not motivated by profit for profit sake, but our goal is to provide the highest quality coffee and the highest quality of relationships with our importer partners so as to provide the highest quality of life for our co-op members. People told us we were crazy when we started, but we’re very proud of our accomplishments.”

Similarly, Pedro Rojas, General Manager of Tierra Nueva co-op in Nicaragua, has often told us how they were called “crazy” for wanting to grow organic coffee. In 1997, 23 farmers formed the Tierra Nueva coffee co-operative. “At that time, our neighbors were all watching us,” Rojas said. “We were terracing, using natural insecticides, and organic fertilizers. They said we had ‘gone crazy,’ that the coffee crisis (when world prices dropped below the costs of production) had made us crazy. Well, we didn’t care. In 2000, we obtained our organic and Fair Trade certifications. By 2004, we had grown to 600 crazy people.” The decision to switch to organic farming changed their lives. “When we started growing organically, we did it to get a better price,” Rojas said. “But organic sustainable agriculture has now become a way of life. It sets us apart from other farmers. Our soil is more fertile, our water cleaner, our forests are protected. Families are living better. The more benefits we see, the more enthusiastic we’ve become. We’re excited to keep experimenting with new ways to farm. Who are the crazy ones today?”

We’re used to skeptics. In 1986, when Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal and Michael Rozyne started Equal Exchange with the aim to create a trade model that values the farmers, consumers and the earth, they too were ridiculed. But they took a big risk and plunged full-force into changing a broken food system. They started with fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua and didn’t look back.

As our model has proven, and our partners – both in the North and the South – have repeatedly shown, a business can lead with its ideals and social mission, offer a high quality product, engage others in its work, and still be economically and environmentally sustainable. Leading with ideals and producing a high quality product are not mutually exclusive.

Go ahead, call us crazy.

Read the full “Daily Grind” story here.

Phyllis Robinson contributed to this article.