Cecafe
سي كافيه
CECAFE (Cooperativa Agraria Ecológica de Lonya Grande) was founded in 2006 by 80
Producers in Lonya Grande in the Amazonas region of Peru. From the beginning
CECAFE, led by Gilmer Sánchez, focused on living their values of collaborative social
Improvement and entrepreneurship. Today, CECAFE has over 800 members whose coffee is sold through several product lines, including a women’s program for their roughly 165+ female members and an exclusive microlot line. CECAFE joins these individual producers into a cooperative that’s stronger than the sum of its parts. Together, CECAFE members
increase their market competitiveness, provide & receive technical and financial support
and run social and environmental programs in their communities. CECAFE focuses on using fair business practices to continue to benefit their members. In addition to the usual quality
control practices, CECAFE keeps careful, up-to-date records of all coffee deliveries, sorted by
farmer, in an online file system. Clients are able to access this system and trace their coffee. In order to help them compete in the global marketplace, CECAFE provides technical and
agronomical support to help farmers produce high quality coffees in environmentally
sustainable ways. CECAFE promotes agricultural diversification as a way for producing families to increase their economic stability & food security. The cooperative also provides training on farm management, including: shade management, soil conservation, using drip irrigation and methods for organic weed and pest control. Farmers selectively handpick ripe
cherry. Cherry is floated and washed in clean water before being placed in solar dryers. Cherry is carefully labeled and kept in distinct lots based on the variety and day of harvest. Cherry is turned frequently to ensure even drying.
