Meet Jose Isidro Lara, member of COCAFCAL in Honduras. He started coffee farming on one acre that was given to him by his father. With the Fair Trade prices he receives, he has been able to invest in 9 more acres throughout the area.

His father was not a Fair Trade farmer and had limited resources to invest in his personal wet mill. You can see his father's wet mill below.

Thanks to Fair Trade prices, Jose Isidro's wet mill is different. He has been able to invest in building a modern wet mill, which enables him to produce even better coffee.

He has also built a solar drying area to enable more consistent quality of his coffee. By covering his patio he prevents the coffee from rotting by protecting it from the rain, while the greenhouse effect speeds up the drying process.

His investment in quality has resulted in him earning several cupping awards.

He receives 2x the market price from importers because of the quality resulting from his investments in capacity building. Fair Trade enables these prices because local buyers don't pay more for quality.

While the local exporter sends millions of pounds of coffee to companies around the world...

Jose Isidro's coffee is requested by name. This is very rare in an industry where most coffee is often sorted simply by country or region of origin.

He is able to receive a higher price for his coffee by talking directly to importers and removing the middleman.

And importers LOVE his coffee.

To learn more about Fair Trade Certified coffee, click here.