Producer Profiles
ASOBAGRI - Asociación Barillense de Agricultores
Since then, however, ASOBAGRI has grown and now counts on more than 900 members, all growing organic coffee, and over 200 more in transition organic cultivation. The cooperative is incredibly diverse representing 67 different Mayan communities. Of the 900 active members growing organic coffee, about 95 are women who produce and process their own. Cooperative members grow high-quality, shade-grown coffee using organic compost. Since Fair Trade Certification in 1999, ASOBAGRI has enjoyed significantly higher revenues. They are now certified Organic, Café Feminino and Bird Friendly.
Quotable
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Fair trade has helped our cooperative obtain additional financing that is very important to our development as a service provider to small farmers. Before, it was very difficult to get national financing since too much collateral and too many assets are required for this. Now, our fair trade partners and clients support us by either directly providing financing or providing the necessary networking for us to get financed with some other organization outside of Guatemala. ” Baltazar Francisco Miguel
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Other effects that fair trade has had on our cooperative and our communities have been the positive social benefits from the premiums received. Since there is a minimum price for the purchase of our fair trade coffee, we have been able to use these premium funds to create various social programs that not only improve our cooperative's operating abilities, but they have been used as tools for the positive development of our members' communities. ” Baltazar Francisco Miguel
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We are very thankful to ASOBAGRI who supported the extension and revitalization of our roads at a time the community needed most. This type of work is usually done by the government, but they were not doing anything and we felt incapable of fiximg the structures on our own. Sebastian Lucas Pascual
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Programs
Cooperative Life Insurance
A life-insurance policy is provided for the 21 employees and 11 members of the Board of Director of ASOBAGRI. This life insurance covers up to $25,000 for each person's death, or up to $50,000 for an accidental death. Although not all members are covered, this coverage has provided an extra sense of security for ASOBAGRI employees which has resulted in an increase in their quality of life and improvements in the overall productivity of the cooperative's services.
Emergency Care and Financial Support
ASOBAGRI provides financial support in cases of unexpected deaths in the family. They also support families effected by natural disasters. Whether a disaster damages their coffee crop or house, ASOBAGRI offers families financial support to help them recover.
Health Assistance
Adequate health care is often a challenge for small producers as they usually do not have enough for emergencies. ASOBAGRI provides support to its members by paying for transportation to medical facilities. This is an invaluable service especially to those living in remote areas, without easy or inexpensive access to public transportation. ASOBAGRI also extends short term healthcare loans without interest to families when a medical emergency occurs. Alternatively, cooperative members must resort to money lenders or intermediaries for loans who often request a future guarantee of the family’s coffee harvest in exchange for the loan, or charge greater interest.