The view overlooking ‘Community Colombia’ in Mexico

I just came back from a trip to Southern Mexico to visit our coffee partner CESMACH, winner of the Cafédirect t 2012 Tackling Climate Change Together competition. First of all, it was another stark reminder for me how very isolated these communities and farmers actually are and have to make a living from producing high quality coffee….here we were in the middle of the incredible Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains with endless ups and downs of hills peppered with smallholder coffee farms (see above!)  What’s more, these farmers play a vital role as a buffer zone for El Triunfo,  a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that lies at the heart of the coffee communities. El Triunfo is the most diverse evergreen cloud forest in Mexico, and one of the most important sites for bird migration. It is covered with evergreen seasonal forest, mountain rainforest and lower rainforest that contain a high proportion of endemic plants. A number of threatened mammalian species can be found in the reserve, namely Geoffroy’s spider monkey, jaguar and puma, and also birds like the horned guan and the always elusive quetzal bird.

An example of a solar coffee dryer

The climate change adaptation project of CESMACH has been installing solar coffee dryers (like the one abive) over the past months and trained the farmers to use them. I was delighted to hear from them that the prime objective of the dryers was spot on: to protect the harvested and washed coffee beans from sudden rain downpours during their drying period. All of the farmers I spoke to confirmed that these simple installations made a big difference last month in January when the weather in the region was very unpredictable with lots of cloud cover and rain showers. Farmers usually have a ‘patio’ to dry their parchment coffee, but in the case of the ‘Community Colombia’, people actually use their rooftops to do it (below) which I have never seen before, but makes sense given the restricted spaces. Now, with the solar dryers, the farmers are able to continue the drying process despite bad weather.

Drying parchment coffee on rooftops in ‘Community Colombia’

What CESMACH successfully achieves with this initiative is linking the climate change adaptation issue to the coffee quality. The solar dryers are equipped with drying tables (below) that allow the coffee to be processed free from contamination that can easily happen on the ‘patios’ via dust and soil particles. So the farmers get a double win: not only can they secure the drying process during the now ever-changing weather patterns in Chiapas, but they also increase overall the quality of their coffee beans.

Emperatriz Garcia Munoz by a new drying table

Whilst the project was able to only install 20 dryers and pilot their effectiveness, CESMACH will now arrange for knowledge exchange amongst the participating farmers, improve the design of the installations and then extend the coverage across all the communities over next years to have a true impact.

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Over 1000 companies applied for these awards so it is a real honour to be celebrated for exceeding best sustainable practices in our work in Africa.

In our application we explained how our unusual business model has improved both environmental and social practices with our producer partners in Africa.

One example we used was from Uganda, where working conditions for coffee sorters were dramatically improved. Before the new warehouse the women would have to sit on the concrete floor all day, sorting defective beans from the good ones. They were paid by the bag, and worked outside. Now the women work indoors, picking the beans from a conveyor belts under daylight quality artificial lights, protected from the often harsh weather conditions in a well ventilated building. They are now paid by the weight of the defects they pick, so are rewarded according to effort. The speed of hand-sorting has increased, and has led to an increase in pay for the women.

Kayonza Growers Tea Factory in Western Uganda, was used as one of the environmental examples. Their award winning entry  to our ‘Tackling Climate Change Together’ competition was a proposal to increase tea and other food production, start a tree planting project along with a project to reduce household energy costs and improve environmental impact through the installation of energy saving cooking stoves and rain water harvesting tanks.

It is always nice to win a shiny trophy; it keeps the fire in our bellies going that drives us to look for more innovative ways to continue improving.

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The Cafédirect team with some of our Central American Partners and the Cafédirect Producers’ Foundation

Each year we hold three conferences with our smallholder producers around the world; one one in South America, one in Africa and a final one in Central America. I have just come back from Nicaragua where we held a two-day meeting with cooperative partners from Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and, of course, Nicaragua. Events like these give Cafédirect a chance to sit down and listen to producers’ views, concerns and strategies, enabling us to ensure that our businesses are directly aligned. It is also a time for us to update partners on our plans for the coming years and give them insights into the UK hot drinks market – all of which makes for some interesting conversations! This year the focus of many discussions was Fairtrade USA’s decision to offer certification to larger ‘Coffee Estate Plantations’ (not just smallholder cooperatives, as it has been up until now). This is a very worrying development for smallholder cooperatives, who are concerned that Fairtrade coffee fulfilment (for now just in the USA – a major market for coffee) will be dominated by large, multinational players and will force smallholder cooperatives out of the picture. This is a developing topic though, and we’ll bring you more as things progress.

Adolfo Velazquez, president of Miraflor cooperative with Full Roast

The rest of the week saw us visiting smallholder farmers around the north of the country, in the breathtaking landscape known as the ‘Cloud Forests’. One such farmer is the charming Adolfo Velazquez, whose farm is actually part of the Miraflor nature reserve near the town of Esteli. Coffee farming is a matter of great pride for Adolfo and he and the small Miraflor ‘base’ cooperative that he is president of work hard maintain a traditional lifestyle, whilst still producing exceptional coffee beans that go into most of our blends, as well as our single origin Cloud Forest coffee. Farmers like Adolfo benefit from the assistance and training provided by their umbrella cooperatives, in this case PRODECOOP, who were one of the pilot cooperatives in our AdapCC climate change scheme. The money that Cafédirect shares with PRODECOOP goes into training these ‘technical assistants’(who visit farmers to give training and advice) as well as more specific projects (such as climate change adaptation) and enables them to plan strategically for the long term.
Nicaragua is a very friendly accessible country and visiting the coffee farms is something that they encourage tourists to do. If you plan to visit this wonderful hub in Central America then you can stay with coffee farmers like Adolfo and his family in

Sunsrise over the Cloud Forests of Nicaragua, from the hotel at PRODECOOP

Miraflor reserve and see how the live on a daily basis, tending to their coffee crop and growing food for their own consumption, high up in the Cloud Forests. You can also now stay in a bit more luxury at PRODECOOP’ s new hotel nearby, which they opened on their premises in  June (leave a comment at the end of this post and we’ll give you the details). Here you can stay and take a tour of the coffee roasting areas, have a ‘cupping’ session with Alex and Fatima (PRODECOOP ‘s expert coffee tasters) and even swim in their crystal clear pool, overlooking the mountains (pictured).

Keep you eye on this blog for more posts about our producer partners and continued updates on the changes to the Fairtrade system in the USA and further afield – and let us know in the comments box if you have any thoughts or questions.

Buy Nicaraguan coffee:
As part of a blend (Roast & Ground)
As single origin Cloud Forest Beans

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When it comes to sustainability we work across all areas of our supply chain, much of which we do not have direct control over. Packaging is one element that we do control, so it has been a key focus for us. For the past three years we have had a strategy to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging. Two of our current targets are to reduce the average weight by 15% by 2015 and reduce or maintain the carbon footprint.

We have found this challenging as there are often trade-offs. You can increase the recycled content but that will make it heavier, or you can reduce the weight but then it can’t be recycled. That is why we have been working hard to really understand the impacts of our packaging and the different options we have, before we make any hasty decisions. However sometimes you find a solution which is good in all respects.

When looking into our packaging we found that freeze dried instant coffee was a major hot spot. Glass jars are heavy, in comparison to the rest of our packaging, which also results in them having a relatively high carbon footprint. This meant that freeze dried coffee contributed over 80% to our packaging weight and over 70% to our primary packaging carbon footprint. This was pretty impressive considering it is only around 13% of our sales!

We therefore knew we had to find a better solution. We started talking to our processing partner about how we could improve these jars. We were presented with a huge range of different options of all shapes, sizes and colours. Our two objectives were to find a jar that was lighter and had higher recycled content.

We found our winner in an oval jar. Being a simple shape it is structurally stronger meaning that the glass doesn’t have to be as thick. That meant the jars are 13%-16% lighter* than our old model. This now moves our freeze dried coffee from being around 9% heavier than the market average to 10% lighter.^**

The new jar is also made from 60% recycled content, which was an improvement on our previous jar which was 7%.

Moving to the new packaging has reduced the carbon footprint of our jars by 34%, saving 86 tonnes of carbon annually (the equivalent to taking 28 cars off the roads!).**

We are thrilled with these improvements and are now looking for more ways we can improve our packaging. Next we’d really like to focus on one of our targets, to make our packaging more easily recyclable or compostable. So watch this space!

*13% for our 200g freeze dried coffee and 16% for our 100g freeze dried coffee.

**These figures were calculated in collaboration with WRAP, as we are Courtauld Commitment 2 signatories.

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Sally Uren was the head judge on the producers’ climate change competition panel

We’ve been updating you on the Cafédirect producers’ climate change competition recently, so we’ve askedhead judge of the panel, Sally Uren from Forum for the Future, to give us her take on the competition and the winning entries…

“Wandering down supermarket aisles, or even enjoying the more intimate shopping experience of an independent specialist retailer, it’s often all too easy to forget where our tea and coffee comes from.  And I’m sure many latte-lovers have very little idea of how climate change impacts are making what was already a tough existence even tougher.
There is also a bigger picture.  At Forum for the Future we have a sneaking suspicion that one way of putting our currently unsustainable food production system on to a more sustainable footing, is to reconnect people with where their food comes from.

So two good reasons then to say yes to a request from Cafédirect to judge their ‘Tackling Climate Change Together’, a competition open to their small-scale producers, where the producers are asked to submit their plans for adapting to climate change, and in return, Cafédirect will give cash prizes to the winners.

Cafédirect has always been a trailblazer.  By being the first coffee brand to seriously push Fairtrade, they helped move Fairtrade tea and coffee into the mainstream, and disrupted a mature UK market in a very positive way.  Now they want to work in partnership with their suppliers, many of which are small-scale producers, to develop strategies to withstand the negative impacts of climate change.  This is of course a really smart strategy, as not only will Cafédirect secure supply in increasingly volatile world commodity markets, but will also enrich the brand, by building its authenticity and uniqueness in an increasingly crowded market place.

The growers at Kayonza Tea Factory were joint winners in the competition

Cafédirect encouraged entries in two categories, ‘old-timers’, those producers who have been thinking about climate change adaptation for a while, and ‘new-comers’, those producers for whom climate change might be a new issue to deal with.  Entries were judged by an expert panel with a diverse range of perspectives: alongside myself were Matilda Lee – former editor at The Ecologist, Alan Brouder – Oxfam UK; Kathleen Schepp – Freelance Consultant; Muyeye Chambwera – International Institute for Environment and Development and Catherine Cameron – Director at Agulhas.  Judging criteria included an assessment of how well submitted projects showed a strategic understanding of wider threats of climate change to agricultural production, the simplicity of implementation and scaleability – all very sensible criteria.  If any innovation isn’t scaleable, then it might be clever, but chances of significant change are limited.

In the old-timer category, the winner was Kayonza Growers Tea Factory in Uganda, who submitted a strategy aimed at helping farmers to increase food security, diversify income, and conserve natural resources.  Their programme will initially target 200 farmers and eventually scale up to 6,000 farmers.  The judges felt that facing increasingly crop losses from unpredictable weather, Kayonza Tea Grower’s proposal rose to the challenge with a holistic and innovative programme of improvements and adaptation methods to ensure future generations of successful tea growers in Uganda and beyond

Traditionally parchment coffee is dried in the sun at CESMACH, but winning the prize will pay for solar-powered air dryers.

The winner of the new-comer category was CESMACH – Campesinos Ecológicos de la Sierra Madre de Chiapas – in Mexico.   Their project involves the use of dome-type solar dryers for coffee, which both reduces drying times and reduces the loss of quality caused by unpredictable and extreme weather. In Mexico in particular, the coffee drying process is more and more constrained due to irregular rainfalls during the formerly dry season. The rains can ruin the quality of the freshly harvested coffee beans with small-scale farmers losing export options.  This solar dryer technology is an innovative response to an urgent call for small scale farmers to increase resilience in the face of climate change and unpredictable weather conditions.

Cafédirect is taking its role as a sustainable brand seriously by encouraging this kind of innovation in its supply chain.  In the same way that Cafédirect helped Fairtrade mainstream, let’s hope these kinds of competitions designed to help small-scale producers adapt to our changing climate also hit the mainstream – soon.”

By Sally Uren, Forum for the Future

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We recently told you about a competition we are running amongst our producer partners to find the most innovative and sustainable ways to tackle climate change. We know that this is one of the most pressing matters affecting smallholder growers today and is frequently the topic of our conversations with producers.

Overall, 12 producers entered proposals in to the competition, for the chance to win the prize fund of £10,000. Proposals were entered from both African and Latin American producers, spanning a variety of different cooperatives, including cocoa, tea and coffee – a very good mix!

The expert panel assessed all entries and came up with a short-list of best, and now we proudly can announce that there were, in fact, two winners, each of whom will win the prize of £10,000!

Traditionally parchment coffee is dried in the sun at CESMACH, but winning the prize will pay for solar-powered air dryers.

CESMACH (Campesinos Ecológicos de la Sierra Madre de Chiapas), Mexico
This cooperative won joint place with their proposal to install 20 dome-type solar dryers for the drying of  ‘parchment coffee’. Traditionally, drying takes place outside in the sunlight (like in the picture below), but increasing rainfall due to climate change means that this process is no longer straight forward, as the weather is not always suitable. These new solar-powered dryers will enable growers to increase efficiency and mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as allowing them to have more control over the quality of the beans they produce. This money will initially go towards providing 20 communities with dryers, with more to follow in the medium-long term.

Kayonza Tea Factory won one of the two the prizes for thier ongoing commitment to tackling the effects of climate change

Kayonza Growers Tea Factory, Uganda
This tea partner has been working on innovative ways of reducing the impact of climate change for a while, and now they have won this prize for their overall climate change adaptation strategy. Their proposal outlined methods of supporting farmers to increase food security, enabling them to diversify their income and secure conservation of natural resources. The prize money will enable double the amount of farmers to benefit from the existing good work happening at this tea factory in Africa.

We will keep you updated about progress of these projects over next year. Congratulations to both organisations – well done!

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An incredible 75% of the world’s coffee is grown by smallholder farmers with tiny plots of land, and at Cafédirect we are seeing first hand that these farmers is at risk from the effects of climate change, their livelihoods and the quality coffee supply is increasingly under threat.

So today we are launching our Coffee Climate Crisis report and video, which tells of a groundbreaking project and the remarkable story of the CEPICAFE coffee farmers’ co-operative in northern Peru.

We had to find a solution that would help and enable the producers to tackle climate change themselves, and make a lasting difference.  As you can read in our special report, it wasn’t an easy task. But we think the results speak for themselves.

But we cannot do this alone – everyone who is passionate about coffee can do their bit.   You really can make a huge difference by buying responsible brands that are investing in the future of smallholder coffee farmers and therefore the future of our daily cup of coffee.

Please help us to spread the word …

Share this video
Read our report
Share this blog on Facebook and Twitter (use the icons at teh top right of this post, or copy this blog link into your update)
Become a Friend of Cafédirect

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Just visit www.ecotricity.co.uk/kit-cafe by 31st March to make the switch and you will receive the kit, which contains everything you need to start saving energy – and money. It takes less than 5 minutes and is the single most powerful action you can take to reduce the carbon footprint of your cup of coffee. You can also claim this offer by calling 08000 302 302 and quoting ‘Cafédirect kit offer’.

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Along with Kenny and Sylvia from the Cafédirect Producers’ Foundation (CPF) programmes team, I recently spent some time in Kenya visiting two of our smallholder tea partners, Kiegoi Tea Factory and Michimikuru Tea Company, both in the Meru region of central Kenya.

Whilst in Kenya we also visited some of the projects carried out as part of CPF’s Producer Partnership Programme (PPP – projects funded through Cafédirect sales). Both Kiegoi and Michimikuru chose to focus their projects on climate change, which is having a severe effect on tea farmers in many parts of Kenya, with drought, unpredictable rainfalls and changing temperatures all making life harder for smallholders.

Charles – River bank scout at Michimikuru

As part of their PPP project, Kiegoi created a newsletter and radio show to raise awareness of climate change amongst farmers and share practical tips for coping with a changing climate. Local community meetings or ‘barazas’ were also used as an opportunity for farmers to increase their climate change knowledge.

At Kiegoi, I met Monica (pictured, top) – she’s part of a team of extension workers who play a vital role in supporting farmers to improve their farming methods, including adapting to climate change.

Michimikuru also chose to focus their PPP project on climate change adaptation, but they took a slightly different approach. Following on from AdapCC (Cafédirect’s innovative climate change project), Michimikuru designed a project to increase water available to the community by improving local rivers which had dried up due to a combination of drought and poor farming techniques.

A team of ‘river bank scouts’ including Charles (pictured, above) were trained and given responsibility for protecting local riverbanks. Charles told me how many farmers plant eucalyptus as a cash crop but do not realise that this will cause rivers to dry up due to amount of water eucalyptus trees require. Instead, farmers are given access to a free seedling nursery of tree species which the local environment supports – to date over 5,000 trees have been planted!

A river bank regeneration zone

Charles also helps to ensure that a minimum of ten metres’ distance is kept between tea fields and river banks, rather than planting right up to the river. This helps to prevent soil erosion and to ensure that fertilizer from the fields does not enter the water stream. Thanks to the PPP project, formerly dried up rivers have now begun to flow again and Michimikuru plan to continue their great work on climate change adaptation and improving their local environment, including trialling wind energy as a potential way of powering the factory.

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What’s the new buzzword around climate change for the agricultural sector? No, you won’t guess – its ‘Climate-smart agriculture’! That’s what was on everyone’s lips during my days at COP17, the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. The conference was about two things:

•    How to get countries to agree to legally binding emission reductions so our planet doesn’t go up in “flames” due to global warming
•    How to set up and finance a Green Climate Fund that should support developing countries to become greener economies and allow them to better adapt to negative impacts of climate change.

I was on the panel of a learning event with our partner IFAD – the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development – talking about our joint project with cocoa smallholders in São Tomé & Príncipe, a small island state off the West African coast, and makers of the cocoa for our add-water hot chocolate. The lively discussion was part of the Agricultural and Rural Development Day 2011; a side- event of COP17 to get agriculture fully onto the climate change agenda. Agriculture is a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and millions of vulnerable smallholder farmers in developing countries, are already feeling the negative impacts of climate change. You can read more about the discussions  on IFAD’s Social Reporting Blog.

So what is climate-smart agriculture? Simply put, it is to produce food in a way that is good for the climate ie. emits less greenhouse gases, is more resilient, more efficient, and strengthens adaptive capacity. It’s not as complicated as it sounds because a lot of smallholder farmers, especially the coffee and cocoa farmers we work with, already apply many agricultural practices that deliver on climate-smart agriculture. For example, by applying organic farming their greenhouse gas emissions are lower compared to industrial, high input agriculture on plantations. By inter-cropping with other food crops like bananas, beans, cassava etc. and establishing shade trees on their plot of land, its resilience is strengthened. Not to mention the benefits to biodiversity.

Climate change is a very important and strategic issue for us, as it goes across all parts of our business: from securing future supply chains to our principles of doing business in a fairer and pioneering way for grower communities to ensure they have a livelihood in the future.

It is likely that small agreements to keep discussing these issues will be the main outcomes of the COP17 meetings, due to end today, and whilst it is vital to get legally-binding international agreements signed, for us at Cafedirect it’s all about action. From pushing the whole adaptation agenda for smallholder farmers early on in 2007 during our pioneering AdapCC project  to continuous support for initiatives at individual producer organisation level via our Producer Partnership Programme, right up to pre-financing and championing innovative adaptation mechanisms like our project with coffee partner Cepicafe in northern Peru.

Learn more about COP17 in 3 a minute video

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