There are many factors behind the taste and quality of a great cup of coffee, as baristas everywhere will explain, but many of these begin well before the beans reach their machines.
At the Associação dos Pequenos Produtores do Cerrado (APPECR) cooperative in the tropical Cerrado region of Brazil, many small-scale farmers do not have covered drying areas for their coffee cherries once these have been picked from their trees. This means they dry their beans directly on the soil. This can contaminate the coffee, a problem made worse by dampened ground caused by increased rainfall during the harvest season, a result of climate change.
“The lack of drying facilities has been a significant barrier to quality improvement for these smallholders,” explains the Fairtrade Foundation’s corporate business manager Kate Prance. “In the region, large and medium-sized farms are gaining ground and recognition in the specialty coffees market. Small producers are running some steps behind because they do not have sufficient resources to invest in infrastructure and training, despite the fact that they contribute a significant volume of coffee.”
Help is at hand – from two fronts. The Fairtrade Foundation and Waitrose, working together, have agreed to fund crucial concrete drying patio. These sheets of concrete will help bring about an overall improvement in quality and enable the cooperative to secure high prices for their crop. The coffee is both Fairtrade certified and used within Waitrose blends so everybody benefits.
The project will also fund technical assistance to improve productivity and crop health. Farmers will be trained in good harvest and post-harvest practices to ensure the beans retain their quality levels. The growers will also be trained in classifying coffee and cupping so they recognise tastes and aromas.
This investment is particular cause for celebration for Waitrose and Fairtrade because it comes at a doubly significant moment.
This week sees the celebration of 10 years of the supermarket’s special Foundation which has worked with suppliers of fresh fruit, vegetables, wine and flowers. It has helped build thriving local communities by funding programmes chosen by the farmers to improve the lives of their families. The Waitrose Foundation also focuses on securing long term supply of the produce through its work with the growers.
The Fairtrade Foundation has followed closely the work at Waitrose and the two organisations recently announced they would work together, sharing knowledge and best practice, thus having a greater impact.
“Waitrose has been a key partner of Fairtrade since our early days,” Fairtrade Foundation commercial director Euan Ventors told a celebratory event to mark the 10 year anniversary. “Both organisations believe that trade, conducted in a fair way, can reduce poverty and increase sustainable development. We know that with the right support, people can transform themselves and their lives; supply chains can be strengthened, communities can become empowered.
“We will learn where we can help each other to develop more impact on the ground and make improvements to our work.”
The Waitrose Foundation has supported education, health, community and environmental projects in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. As well as helping communities to flourish, its work has helped to ensure security of supply of high quality avocados, green beans, flowers and citrus from the Waitrose Foundation farms.
This week it announced an ambitious future, symbolised by changing its logo from one that featured a map of Africa, to one containing an image of the globe. It has so far invested £8m of profits from the sale of produce at Waitrose and funded 450 locally led programmes chosen by elected representatives of the 100,000 farmers and smallholders who grew them. It has announced that, over the next 10 years, it will double the number of countries it operates in and double its investments to return £20m to Waitrose Foundation communities for use in their projects.
The Waitrose Foundation is funded through profits from the supermarket itself, exporters, importers and growers – and employs experts in the sourcing communities to empower local worker committees ensuring funds are invested wisely, including in adult education, health care, clean water supplies, solar powered lighting to keep streets safer and in work to protect the environment. It will be verified by the Fairtrade Foundation – the first time Fairtrade has verified a third-party scheme.
Fairtrade’s involvement will play a key part in the Waitrose Foundation’s future. Simon Moore, director of the Waitrose Foundation concurs. “As we celebrate 10 years of the Waitrose Foundation, we’re delighted to be working with the Fairtrade Foundation to further our shared aims of improving the lives of the communities who provide for us,” he says. “There is real value in forming strong partnerships, sharing best practice and being better together.
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