About This Coffee
PROCAFE is a cooperative that was initiated by the Municipality of San Juan del Río Coco in the Madriz department on May 11, 2011. It started with 32 members, 12 of whom are women and 20 are men. It emerged out of the need to market and promote the coffee production of each member, as well as provide essential services on the farms. The aim was to improve the income and quality of life for coffee-producing families in every community within this municipality. Currently, we have 165 members, with 56 women and 109 men.
Their goal is to form an organization of small and medium-sized coffee producers, so that they can become self-sustainable by transforming themselves into efficient and economically sustainable self-managed small businesses.
Cultivation
In the environmental aspect, they work on projects for water decontamination through treatments of coffee pulp and honey water. This involves building coffee pulp storage tanks, filters for honey water storage, reforestation on farms, and protection of existing forests and wildlife. To support these efforts, a labeling process was initiated in some farms with the assistance of coffee-producing partners and organizations.
Procafe received its Organic and Fairtrade certifications in 2011. In 2019, they began the process of obtaining the ROC certification, starting with bananas. The motivation to seek certification came from a local company that aimed to promote agricultural development. This company marketed their bananas and introduced Procafe to the certification. After learning more about it, Procafe sought their support to certify their coffee.
Their coffee and bananas successfully achieved ROC certification at the Silver level in 2021. Since the certification process began, Procafe has made changes in their practices, including the increased use of shade varieties and the greater application of organic products.
Looking forward, Procafe is committed to continually improving their practices to increase their sales of ROC-certified coffee in the years to come.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Procafe takes great pride in owning its own dry mill, where they process all of their coffees. This achievement allows them to have complete control over the entire coffee production process, ensuring the highest quality standards are met. Additionally, they own their own quality control lab, further demonstrating their commitment to delivering exceptional coffee.
Sustainable Harvest
Sustainable Harvest® is a specialty coffee trader focusing primarily on bringing coffees to market that are sourced from smallholder farmer cooperatives in the supply chain such as indigenous communities, women groups and the next generation of coffee farmers.
Their sourcing model is built on transparency, traceability and direct relationships between quality-minded coffee roasters and best-in-class coffee producers. Sustainable Harvest® has an on-site presence at origin with staff in Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru. Each office coordinates their supply including quality management, supplier relationships, source development, logistics, training and capacity building.
Coffee in Nicaragua
Nicaragua may not be the most famous producer of Central American coffee, but it has great potential. The country is known as the land of ‘los lagos y los volcanes’ (lakes and volcanos) and has many coffee growing ‘pockets’ that few have heard of or experienced. Many producers in the country are experimenting with new varieties and processing methods, making it a specialty origin to watch.
Many coffee producers in Nicaragua today are buoyed by cooperatives that provide a wide array of services, supports and opportunity. As seen in the win of the ‘El Acuerdo de las Tunas’, where 3,000 landless workers won land rights, collective action by farmers can be far more effective at enacting widespread change than the advocacy of individual farmers.
Cooperatives and farmer associations in Nicaragua encompass a large percentage of the country’s coffee producers, and they are taking their destiny in their own hands. By putting great emphasis on quality and by aiming for the international specialty coffee industry, cooperatives and farmers associations are helping their members gain influence and import that will, hopefully, garner enough profit to enable farmers to continue to improve and invest in their farms and their families.
Large and medium-sized (10+ hectare) farms also hold a significant place in Nicaragua’s coffee landscape, as well. Many of these farms have also prioritized social and environmental issues and are working on quality improvements at both cultivation and post-harvest levels.
Farmers, for the most part, will process coffee on their own farms, and the majority of the time coffee is dried on large drying patios under sun.