Women in Coffee Tour to Nicaragua
2008 (date to be announced)
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The first ever Women in Coffee Tour took
place January, 2003. The highlight of the nine
day program was a visit to SOPPEXCCA coffee cooperative in Jinotega, Nicaragua
- where 30% of the coop members are women. During three days in Jinotega
and the surrounding mountain communities women from North America and
Nicaragua connected in partnership and discussed ways to make a difference
through their trading relationships. The group saw first hand how a small
family farmer cooperative can produce excellent quality coffee and through
direct trading relationships and Fair Trade Certification gain a fair
price for their product.
The 2008 Tour intends to recapture and build on the spirit and connection that was felt during our 2003 gathering.
This seven day tour will retrace many of our steps in 2003, and also focus on how the women have been able to improve their lives since then. We'll culminate the tour with a trip to beautiful colonial Granada on Lake Nicaragua.
The daily activities of the group in Jinotega in 2003 are described
below. Details for the 2008 Tour will be available in early September 2007.
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Photo at left: Rosadilla Toledo is a member of the SOPPEXCCA
cooperative and was a winner in the recent Cup of Excellence Coffee
Competition . "Avanzando Juntos" is the slogan on the SOPPEXCCA
t-shirt which means - Moving Forward Together. Below: April Pojman demonstrates
wet mill depulping process.
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WOMEN IN COFFEE VISIT TO SOPPEXCCA
SATURDAY, January 25:
Welcome in the Hotel Café, Jinotega.
Welcome by Fátima Ismael - General Manager of SOPPEXCCA , Janixce Florián
of the Gender program of SOPPEXCCA , Rigoberto Pineda, a Field Technician and
Javier Valle of the Quality Control and Cupping Team.
SUNDAY, January 26:
Visita to the Cooperative July 19th in the Community of Los Alpes. The group
is received by:
The Board of Directors of the Cooperative:
Leonardo Valle Delgado Board President of SOPPEXCCA.
Antonio Talavera Board Secretary of SOPPEXCCA.
Norma Gadea Paiwas Treasurer of the Parents' Committee for the construction
of the community school.
Teresa Blandon Board member of the Cooperative.
Federico Blandon Member of the Parents Committee.
Sra. Teresa Blandon gives a brief welcome to the group, followed by a musical
presentation by a father-son duo from the community.
Sra. Norma Gadea describes to the delegation the onerous process and the tremendous
amount of effort and hard work that the cooperative members have made in order
to begin to construct the school. The community had been requesting support
for the school from various government institutions for seven years without
any response. Norma also explained that the school contruction project has served
as an important opportunity for the cooperative and the community members. As
farmers who benefit from Fair Trade, the price incentives have given them the
means to work cooperatively on a project with a community benefit for the poorest
members.
She also recognized the role that SOPPEXCCA plays as a cooperative organization
to help members improve productivity, organizational capacity and to protect
the environment.
The presentation is followed by a brief question and answer session between
the community members and the Womens' Tour.
The Womens' Tour donates school materials to the Parents Committee and the
Board of Directors of the 19th of July Cooperative.
The community then invited the Womens' Tour to a typical lunch: Chicken Soup
with dumplings.
After the conclusion of the activities, the group said goodbye and departed
to the Cooperative Ernesto Acuña in the community of La Perla.
At this cooperative, the Womens' Tour is received by women and men members
of the cooperative and the community.
Sra. Rosa Adilia Toledo, welcomed the group. Rosa is a Member of the Cooperative
Ernesto Acuña and Winner of the Cup of Excellence Prize, Nicaragua 2002,
in which her coffee was classifed among the best 23 coffees of Nicaragua.
The Womens' Tour proceeded to a coffee plot where the visitors picked coffee,
afterwhich the men and women of the cooperative explained the coffee process,
including a demonstration of the quality control procedures that the coop follows.
After witnessing the coffee process the Womens' Tour proceeded to the vermiculture
production center, which is operated by a group of women coop members. The vermiculture
process uses the left over cherry pulp from the coffee process as food for the
worms, which then convert the material into organic fertilizer and a liquid
foliage fertilizer called 'purin'. The vermiculture activity helps the community
process the coffee pulp in a environmentally friendly manner at the same time
it generates an alternative income source for the women.
The Womens' Tour presents school materials for the school children.
The Group departs for Jinotega and a group dinner.
MONDAY, January 27.
The day began with a presentation of SOPPEXCCA as an organization of small
farmers at the Receiving Center of the organization. Victor González,
Vice President of SOPPEXCCA gave an explanation of the organiztion, its objectives
and operations, as well as the structure of the organization: the General Assembly,
the Board of Directors, the Board Oversight Committee, Territorial Commissions
and the internal management organization.
Following the explanation and questions and answers by the participants, the
Group took a brief tour of the Receiving Center to see the receiving process,
the quality control systems, and the drying of coffee samples from the farmers'
lots.
Then, the Group continues to the cupping lab where Marbely García and
Javier Valle, Cuppers of SOPPEXCCA, explain the cupping process and lead the
group through a cupping of four coffee lots: Daniel Teller, Carlos Rizo, La
Sandino y Arlen Siu.
After the cupping, the group goes to a lunch and meeting between women, where
Yadira Chavarria, an organic coffee farmer, welcomes the group. Kimberly Easson
explains the purpose of the visit and Sra. Eudocia Gómez explains the
advances that women have achieved being a part of SOPPEXCCA between the years
1999 to 2003.
After the explanation, Fátima takes the opportunity to recognize Erna
Knutsen, for her experience in the world of coffee, and as the inspiration she
has been for all of the women of SOPPEXCCA, as a woman, who in spite of her
years remains untiring in her work and her participation in the tour. Sra. Eudocia
Arroliga, member of SOPPEXCCA presents Erna with a rememberance that says: Mujer...
... Luz que crece en cada amanecer. (Woman - light that brightens with every
morning)
The group took a brief interlude to play a game called "Conejo a su Conejera"
or Rabbit to your Rabbit Hole. The moral of which was how working together brings
better results than working alone. Many laughs were shared by all.
After the meeting, the group stopped to visit Professor Harvey Wells, well-known
Jinotegan painter and author.
That evening the "See you Soon" party took place with all of the
Tour pariticpants and both women and men members of SOPPEXCCA and the technical
team. At the party, the President of SOPPEXCCA expressed to every one that we
are all one family, and each cooperative behaves like a family. Because of this,
they count the visitors as members of their family and solidarity.
They offered a gift of acknowledgement on behalf of all of the Fair Trade farmers
to Kimberly Easson - a gold broche with a coffee branch design.
Kimberly thanked them for the recognition, expressing that she works for all
small farmers and considers that all of us are equal and we all deserve the
same treatment, equality and respect.
Later Karen Cebreros made the announcement that the group woudl buy198 bags
of coffee at Fair Trade prices as the first step to formalize a working relationship
between SOPPEXCCA and the Womens' Tour.
Other tour participants expressed their thanks for the hospitality of the visit
and to Kimberly. In the name of all of the Tour participants, Kimberly presented
a donation to the Los Alpes School, which was received by Norma Gadea, Treasurer
and Teresa Blandon, representing the community and the cooperative.
The evening continued with every one dancing and enjoying typical Nicaraguan
dance.
The next day we traveled south to Masaya and Granada toward the border with
Costa Rica..... the adventure continues.
