Sunday, December 09, 2007
Adding value, gaining hope
Mombachito Coffee
Farmer-to-Farmer
Nicaragua
Near one of the most beautiful areas of creation surrounding Mombacho volcano, Nicaraguan coffee farmers are venturing toward “new possibilities in business creation.” Mombachito Coffee is a growing business with a new approach toward value-added production, business concepts, and confidence. The outlook of eight Nicaraguan farmers, as well as the perspective of their North American partners of Farmer-to-Farmer, has undergone transformation.
In 2005, Nicaraguan farmers initiated a large-scale organic coffee cooperative with the goal to more efficiently market the coffee of local farms in compliance with the highest organic standards. Today, the cooperative has 170 farmers, expanding their horizons through the training of a local organic coffee expert. Yet, within the first year, many were adversely affected by an extended drought that resulted in less profit than was expected.
In response, eight of the farmers chose to take the risks, and seek after the possibilities, of value-added production in their small-scale business, Mombachito Coffee. With the encouragement of Partners Worldwide local staff to step forward “into their future as businesspersons”, the farmers of Mombachito Coffee now roast, grind, package, and market coffee themselves, a decision that, in the first year alone, provided a 100% increase in profit on the fraction of the season’s crop—300 pounds—which they privately produced.
Furthermore, the outlook of partners on both ends of Farmer-to-Farmer has also undergone change. In December of 2005, a group of Iowa partners visited with their Nicaraguan partners, learning from one another and strengthening each other as they together harvested the season’s coffee. The visit provided the Iowa partners with a new view into the lives of the Nicaraguan partners, resulting in a better understanding of, and a deeper appreciation for, the work behind a morning cup of coffee.
Not only did the quality and profit of Mombachito Coffee’s organic products increase; so, too, did their business concepts and their confidence to continue. Jennie, one of the farmers involved, says that after seeing the first completed package, labeled Mombachito Premium Organic Coffee, their outlook transformed from the notion that “we will always be to poor” to the belief that “this is a project we can attain!”
Mombachito Coffee has recently found a niche market in North America through their partnership with the affiliate, Farmer-to-Farmer. Because of their initial success over the past year, they plan to meet the growing demand by producing next season’s entire crop through their growing business, utilizing their unique value-added production. Through the opportunity to develop relationships with local expertise and international mentorship, the farmers of Mombachito Coffee continue to step forward with confidence.