Selva Andina

The association of Selva Andina was founded in 2003, but officially became Cooperativa Agraria de Servicios Múltiples Selva Andina in 2015. The farmers are located in many different districts in Cajamarca and the Amazonas departements North in Peru. The cooperative is medium sized with about 620 members.

Their goal is to support its members in the improvement of sustainable organic coffee production, commercialisation, always respecting the ecological balance and improving the quality of life of its producers.

Price transparency and premiums to producers, first and second payments

The General Assembly of delegates communicates the base price and quality premiums through bulletins and committee meetings, where it is explained how the price is calculated and distribution of the premium. This according to the General Assembly agreements that members vote on.

The management team

Roman Barboza Vasquez is the manager and he oversees 20 people in the following departments: Management, Board of Directors, Traceability, Accounting and Treasury, Marketing, Quality Control, Technical Area, Collection and Warehouse; and finally Maintenance and Cleaning. The objective of the cooperative, according to Roman Barboza Vasquez, is to improve the economic income of its members, and therefore the living standards of farmers and their families. Roman says, “It fills me with great satisfaction to have watched Selva Andina since its inception as it continues contributing to its growth and development. It motivates me to know that members receive better prices for their coffee, they have benefits and services that the cooperative grants them.”

Sustainability

Selva Andina is under the umbrella of a sustainability project called “Cafe Selva Norte”. Launched in 2019, the project has been co-developed with 6 cooperatives in northern Peru (in the Amazonas and Amazonas coffee origin regions) and is the first of several large-scale projects in Latin America. For every pound (lb) of coffee you buy, 5 US cents (USC) is funnelled back to the project which offer a producer-based holistic solution to the complex sustainability challenges facing the coffee value-chain.

In 2020, ELEVAFINCA has started a new origin project in Northern Colombia with Red Ecolsierra aiming to generate similar sustainability impacts. The Café Selva Norte project directly supports the following activities:

• Transition to sustainable land use (agroforestry and forestry)
• Make an impact traceability software
• Quality improvement through technical assistance, organic fertilisation, post-harvest training and supply chain infrastructure.

By sourcing coffee from Selva Andina, you are directly contributing to the following sustainability impacts, generated since it's launch in 2019:

• Lent 338,000 USD to 170 producers across the 6 partner cooperatives
• Renovated and built 170 hectares of agroforestry systems.
• Developed 5 nurseries in order to achieve the production goals which has led to: 52 319 shade trees, 508 400 coffee trees planted.

Over the next 14 years, this origin project aims to:

• Finance 3,000 producers,
• Renovate 6,500 hectares of agroforestry,
• Conserve 200,000 hectares of forest.

Leading to the plantation of more than 2.6 million shade trees, more than 29.6 million coffee trees and to the sequestration and reduction of 3,850,000 tons of CO2 .

Our sourcing program

The coffees are either micro-lots or communal or cooperative producer blends from the areas in the north around Jaen and San Ignacio. The farms are normally between 1-3 hectares and are family run. They harvest, pulp, ferment and dry the coffees at the farms. If the producers are part of a premium program, like ours, they will more likely invest in their production and sit on enough parchment to create potential micro-lots or improved community blends.

So far most of our coffees are coming from small caserios (villages) in La Coipa, Colosay, San Ignacio and other similar places. These are all places that we have identified with great potential through selective cupping. We also know that our exporting partner is investing in the producer relations there with support on quality protocols, traceability programs and premiums.

The concept for us is the same across the communities where we source. We select micro-lots of the coffees that are high performing at lot sizes between 10 - 20 bags. And we try to buy producer blends from the same areas as much as we can. The program is based on good premiums paid to the producers across all our coffees. To invest in the communities is crucial to get a consistent supply and to give the farmers incentives to invest.

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