Virtual Origin Trip Day 3: PRODECOOP
The 3rd Day of the #GFEVirtualOriginTrip brought us to PRODECOOP, a coffee cooperative in Esteli, Nicaragua.
PRODECOOP supports 2,300 smallholder coffee farmers in northern Nicaragua, 27% of whom are women, including GFE farmer Alexa Marin. PRODECOOP provides farmers with a number of support services. For the Origin Trip, the GFE team visited PRODECOOP’s drying facilities where coffees are cleaned and sorted. This process ensures that the final green coffee is of the highest quality possible.
The cooperative is also home to a quality lab, where professionals like Fatima Lopez roast and cup coffees to determine Q grades, the metric frequently used to determine a coffee’s quality. The green coffee of local coffee producers are then ready for export.
With programs related to gender, technical training, and capital, PRODECOOP offers farmers opportunities for professional growth and development. If you are feeling inspired and ever have an opportunity to visit the Nicaraguan coffee country, be sure to visit PRODECOOP’s on-site hotel, Hotel Palacaguina.
Tomorrow, we will be visiting Alexa Marin at her farm, Finca San Antonio. ¡Hasta mañana!
Follow along the Origin Trip by tracking our Facebook and Instagram or #GFEVirtualOriginTrip for videos that come directly from Nicaragua!
Trip Itinerary:
Day 1: The traveling team will arrive in Nicaragua and will visit Tio Antonio in Managua.
Day 2: Our first official stop will be Café Alborada, the farm of GFE farmer Ivania Calderón.
Day 3: To get a more complete picture of how coffee is graded and sold, the team will spend some time with the Prodecoop coffee cooperative.
Day 4: On to another coffee farm! This time, the team will spend the day with Alexa Marin at her farm, Finca San Antonio.
Day 5: We'll get a chance to see the roasting process come to life at Vega Coffee's Esteli roasting facility.
Day 6: Back to Managua and adios to Nica!