CAC San Fernando

Coop. San Fernando is a cooperative enterprise that is managed by the sons and daughters of its members. The organizartion channels the work and efforts of small, organized producers who promote agroecological practices through a model of governance that promotes transparency, democratic values, equality and active participation from its members. Their ultimate goal is the integral development of its members, their families' and their community.

The beginnings of the San Fernando Cooperative date back to 1996, when 35 small coffee producers from the campesino community of San Fernando in the Inkawasi district of La Convención, Cusco, decided to band together towards a common cause. Back then, getting their coffee to market involved a 3-day mule journey over the Andes mountains of Cusco to the nearest commercial coffee buyer. At the end of that journey, the price received by farmers was often derisory and did not compensate for the journey and their effort. These 35 founding members convened a general assembly in order to form the San Fernando committee and request membership into the secondary-level Central de Cooperativas Agrarias-COCLA. Due to its success, the San Fernando committee of COCLA would  continue growing in membership and by 2001, it would re-structure into its own self-governing cooperative. They remained a member of  COCLA and continued commercializing their coffee through the secondary organization. However, by 2014, having reached 287 members, the San Fernando Cooperative obtained independence from COCLA in order to manage their sales directly to customers and obtained their own Fair Trade and Organic certifications.

Tasting Profile: Syrupy and round with orange, clove, brown sugar and vanilla.