ASPRO CAFE NOR PERU (Jaen) – Organic - Peru

ASPRO CAFÉ Nor Perú is a very newly formed cooperative serving communities throughout Peru’s northern Cajamarca Province. Founded in January of 2014, the cooperative supports and promotes sustainable development through coffee production for the producers with whom they work and their families.

The organisation was originally formed with just 350 producers hailing from the areas of Jaén, Cutervo and San Ignacio – the majority of whom farm on very small parcels of land (2 to 2.5 hectares) located at altitudes exceeding 1,600 metres above sea level. Within fewer than 2 years, the cooperative has grown to incorporate 1,500 producers, farming a total area of 3,000 hectares and producing approximately 52,000 bags of green coffee annually. The cooperative has succeeded in gaining USDA and EU organic certification, along with a host of other social and environmental certifications, as well. Above all, the organisation is oriented towards quality and has focused on improving all aspects of production amongst their members – from cultivation through to processing and storage.    

Coffee is selectively hand-harvested and delivered to producers’ family wet mills on the same day as picking. The coffee is then pulped and fermented in wooden or concrete tanks for between 12 and 18 hours, depending on altitude and temperature. After fermentation, the coffee is washed and then laid to dry on raised beds or drying ‘modules’ - which vary greatly in structure from farm to farm - for at least 10 days. Drying modules, though they vary, are usually raised structures with some sort of roof covering to protect coffee from rain. 

The motive for this focus on quality is not just about making a name for Peruvian coffee – it is ultimately to ensure access to higher value markets for the members of ASPRO CAFE NOR PERU, with the aim of improving livelihoods and incomes for coffee producing families and offering sustainable ways out of poverty. In order to continue supporting these families, in the long- and short-term, the cooperative is committed towards three fundamental pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. In addition to providing support in the way of technical advice, milling and export and access to speciality markets, the cooperative provides pre-financing, access to credit through third parties (such as agri-banks and micro-credit groups), and a host of social projects designed to help producers improve their lives and the future for their children.