Good Coffee, Better Planet
Environmental awareness is rooted in the ethos of the Chirinos community, and much of the coffee cultivated there is organic and Fair Trade certified. While better for the environment, organic production can create challenges for producers, limiting their options to combat pests and diseases and the types of fertilizer that they can use. Addressing the issue of access to organic fertilizer, the Chirinos co-op maintains a large plant that produces organic compost which is distributed amongst its members.
Kayon Mountain Estate owner Ismael Hassen Aredo provides training for 140 nearby smallholder farmers, helps finance social initiative projects such as the construction of schools, and plans to build a bridge across the Sawana River to make the walk to school for the children of the community more safe.
In addition to producing great coffee, one of the reasons we were initially attracted to Ketiara, is the fact that it is led by a charismatic woman named Rahmah. After working in coffee for many years, she helped found Ketiara in 2009 with just 38 members and currently serves as the co-op’s chairperson. In the years since it was established, the co-op membership has expanded to nearly 2,000 smallholder farmers, over 50% of them being women. The coffee Equator purchases is exclusively from the women members of the co-op; they refer to this special selection as Queen Ketiara. We pay an additional premium for the "Queen" designation, with proceeds going to programs that benefit women.
All of Jaguar Espresso’s components are both Fair Trade and Organic certified.