• Country: Peru
  • Region: San Ignacio district, Northern Peru
  • Founded: 2001
  • Producers: 405 (107 women members)
  • Harvest time: April to September
  • Post-harvest process: Fully washed at farm level
  • Certifications: Fairtrade, Organic, Utz
  • Varieties: Typica, Pache, Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Catimor, Gran Colombia, Castillo
  • Altitude: 900 – 1700m
  • Soil type: Sandy loam soil
  • Shipment time: June to December
  • The cup: Sweet acidity, chocolate, medium body

Summary

UNICAFEC has invested Fairtrade premiums in building an office, cupping lab, fertilizer warehouse and drying machine fuelled sustainably by coffee husks. The drying machine enables UNICAFEC to consistently control moisture levels to achieve export standards during the humid drying season. This is increasingly important due to heavier and more frequent rainfall as a result of climate change. They have also trained team of cuppers, which provides feedback to improve flavour and quality.

Twin supports UNICAFEC’s board in developing long-term business plans and provides training on Price Risk Management. Twin also helped develop the cooperative’s first women’s coffee initiative in partnership with Equal Exchange UK. In the past, coffee was dried on the ground, but premiums from the sale of all coffee ‘Grown by Women’ have contributed to the financing of polytunnels for coffee drying.