PRODECOOP represents 38 base-level cooperatives and 2,300 farming families. They are committed to Fair trade, bettering farmer livelihoods, and maintaining coffee quality. Their long term project to fight rust is just one part of their efforts to help their farmers. La roya, or coffee rust, is a parasitic fungus that is currently affecting countless coffee farmers in Central and South America. Yellow spots start appearing on the underside of leaves, taking all the resources and nutrients for themselves. The leaves then eventually fall off and the trees are unable to produce the cherries that provide us our coffee. Some farmers have lost 100% of their harvest, 100% of their income, and 100% of their livelihood.
Our Role
Philly Fair Trade Roasters (PFTR) buys their Nicaraguan coffee from PRODECOOP. Through the support of The Chain Collaborative, PFTR has been able to donate to the cooperative's project to fight coffee rust. For every bag of Nicaraguan they buy, they’re pledging an additional $25 to support the project, support the farmers, and strengthen their personal relationship with the cooperative. The Chain also gives a big thanks to Barista Magazine for matching a donation to the rust project by 50%. The Chain donated the proceeds from their blog posts about the project to PRODECOOP, and Barista kindly matched this donation by 50%.