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Frutos de Selva is a non-profit coffee and sugar cooperative that was established in 2006 with support of a governmental project to promote sustainable coffee production. The organization began exporting to international markets in 2008.
THE PROJECT
Frutos de Selva is a cooperative organization that comprises of 352 coffee producers and 47 sugar producers from 11 communities near the Alto Mayo Protected Area of northern Peru. The cooperative cultivates approximately 1200 hectares and its green coffee is provided for international specialty markets. The organization has acquired FLO, Organic and Utz certifications. Buyers include Sustainable Harvest, Coffee Link & List Deisler, and Prodelsure.
Frutos de Selva provides a variety of services to its members in addition to better market conditions through the consolidation of crops. The organization takes care of the management of internal control system for FLO, Organic and Utz certifications. Technical support as well as organization/administrative training is provided not just to members, but potential members as well. The high standards provided by the quality control and traceability systems ensure that the product’s integrity is kept intact. Frutos de Selva also provides the means to access trade finance as well as individual finance through local entities.
THE DEAL
In 2010 VV provided working capital to Frutos de Selva to assist with harvest expenses, thus mitigating the risk of losing associates’ production.
THE BENEFIT
Frutos de Selva is improving sustainable production methods in buffer zones of the Alto Mayo Protection Forest and important watersheds of municipal conservation areas. After cattle ranching, coffee production provides the biggest potential threat as well as opportunity to conservation efforts. The watershed of the forest harbors many threatened plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth, and forms part of the Abiseo-Condor-Kutuku Conservation Corridor. Runoff from the Alto Mayo forests gives rise to several major rivers which ultimately flow through the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin and provide a source of clean water for local communities and agricultural production. The certifications held help to eliminate negative effects of agricultural practices such as soil erosion, agrochemical use, and poor watershed and agroforestry management.
Associates’ families depend on coffee production and commercialization through Frutos de Selva. They also produce some other crops for their own food security. Frutos de Selva is supported by local projects that cover operational costs such as some of the employees’ salaries. The Alto Mayo River secures subsistence fisheries for indigenous populations, representing up to 42% of their protein intake. In the future, the financial sustainability of more than 8000 downstream families and about 35000 regional inhabitants will depend on economic alternatives to protect the forest.