January 17th, 2009
The Fair Trade Coffee Trail is a project that works with five cooperatives and four communities, with the goals of: raising awareness and communication between coffee farmers in the South and consumers in the North, diversifying the income of cooperative members and their families, and promoting fair trade while conserving biodiversity in the region.
- SEÑORA RAYO Y FAMILIA
The communities offer a perfect opportunity for a person to get to understand fair trade by living and sharing with a family from one of four communities in the north of Nicaragua, learn about the culture, cultivate friendships, and enjoy the beauty of this region. A person can enjoy: waterfalls, lookout points, orchids, birds, and other flora and fauna. It is interesting to see how sustainable development practices in coffee help preserve these habitats. During the time on the tour, a person is able to participate in a number of cultural, recreational, athletic and artistic activities.
Coffee has been farmed in Northern Nicaragua since the middle of the nineteenth century. Matagalpa and Jinotega are excellent regions for coffee production and the coffee is internationally renowned for its high quality and balanced cup.
The cooperatives have been finalists int he Cup of Excellence, which takes place in Nicaragua, as well as in international fairs in North America, Europe and Japan.
The north of Nicaragua does not only offer a great experience in coffee; it also offers a cool climate with a panoramic view of mountains, plus flora and fauna ready to be observed.
When the international coffee prices fell to historic lows in 2001, the crisis was felt strongly in all coffee growing ares such as Matagalpa. It is in this context that the cooperatives of small scale coffee farmers began to look for alternatives to the coffee crisis and strengthen the relationships between consumers and creating new forms of income for the farmers. Since 2003, CECOCAFEN and the UCA San Ramon have promoted a rural and community based tourism program as part of a strategy to diversify incomes of rural families, as well as promote direct contact with coffee consumers linked to the fair trade movement. The tourism promotes a direct relationship between visitors and farmers in the communities, with the objective of letting them get to know the culture, daily lives, and productive activities. These visits are organized in various communities which are grouped together in what is known as the
Fair Trade Coffee Trail.
Categories: Nicaragua |
Tags: coffee, coffee trail, fair trade, Nicaragua, Trova, Trova Imports
