It’s hard to make a living as a rural farmer in Colombia.
Many struggle to pay the bills and provide their families with even the basic necessities. APCO, a local coffee cooperative, has helped Miguel provide for his family with living wages, even when agricultural markets remain depressed and commodity prices for coffee are very volatile.
Coffee has been the key to helping Miguel’s two sons take steps towards a better future. He receives higher coffee price for his harvest. APCO’s fair trade committee makes recommendations to the groups on how they should use their annual fair trade social premium to fund projects. It trains people in each of their communities on how to implement these projects.
Miguel has collaboratively used his share of the fair trade social premium to construct a coffee warehouse, a compost facility, a fish pond which provides him with 250 fish annually, gain training in pisciculture, and to buy seven cows. He has also bought chickens which provide eggs for the family.