About This Coffee
SACACLI was founded by 31 associates, six women among them, on November 5, 1994, in Sacacli, San Rafael del Norte, Jinotega. Currently, the cooperative has 500 members.
The cooperative began its operations in the coffee sector in 2008 with the help of 22 members in the municipality of Pantasma. By the 2017-2018 harvest, they had members and Fairtrade and Organic-certified farms.
Currently, the cooperative supports small and medium producers with services like savings, credit, supply, training, coffee marketing, and technical assistance.
Cultivation
SACACLi offers high-quality products under regulations that guarantee the protection of soil, environment, and communities. They are committed to continuous monitoring and always looking for improvement in the quality of their production chains under traceability systems with shared responsibilities between the producer, the organization, and their commercial clients.
In addition to coffee, Sacaclí also works with chili, tomato, and onion.
Sacaclí began its ROC certification process in 2020, starting with the sale of ROC-certified bananas, which opened the doors to certification for them. The certification process for their coffee took around 11 months, during which they faced challenges such as English language proficiency and not all their producers being Organic certified. However, they decided to proceed with the process, and out of their 85 associates, 41 who are Organic certified went through the auditing process to obtain the seal.
In 2021, they obtained the ROC seal at the Bronze level, but they continued to seek ways to improve their practices through soil analysis, carbon footprint capture projects, and forest and bird inventories. After the 2022 audit, they reached the Silver level, with 51 associates already certified as Organic and 18 in the process.
They hope to see further progress in the 2023 audit results, and their goal is to reach the Gold level in the coming years.
About their Maragogype
Maragogype is an exceptional and uncommon coffee variety. Yet, growing it presents some unique challenges, as this variety is more susceptible to rust, pests, and diseases and demands a high level of attention and care.
The beans themselves have a lower density, which hides their true potential. Gentle handling and thoughtful roasting are necessary to unlock its delicate floral notes.
At SACACLI, the skilled farmers take excellent care of their unique Maragogype coffee trees. Each cherry is meticulously selected and processed with great attention.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
SACACLI utilizes the concrete patio and plastic tarp method for drying their coffee at the cooperative. This method ensures even drying and protection from external elements, producing exceptional flavor and quality.
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.