Producer Profiles

CORSICANA - Collin Street Bakery

Collin Street Bakery (or CORSICANA) has been baking fruitcakes for over a century in Corsicana, Texas. Always looking for ways to improve their product, they aligned with producers in Costa Rica to start an organic pineapple farm in 1991. The farm, named Finca Corsicana (Corsicana Farm), is located in the fertile slopes of the Mount Poas volcano, in the northern Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica. It is one of the rainiest, tropical forest regions in the world, with more than 6,000 millimeters of rain per year. The farm is surrounded by high altitude cloud forests and waterfalls. More than 38 million organic certified pineapples are produced each year and production is growing consistently in terms of area and number of workers.

Collin Street Bakery became Fair Trade Certified™ in late 2009 to address the needs of an expanding workforce in this rural area of Costa Rica. Some of the challenges faced by CORSICANA workers include lack of education, child care and health care options. The organization believes Fair Trade organizes and empowers workers to develop and implement their own projects. Fair Trade certification also guarantees workers earn decent wages to provide for their families.
 

Quotable

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My 15 year old son is not in high school, but when the Learning Center opens, he will have access to education opportunities. My hope is that he will be inspired to learn.  ”

Anna Gomez, Worker
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I have a big family and although I can't afford to buy us a computer, my children can take classes in the Learning Center and apply new skills to their schoolwork.  ”

Manuel Hernandez, Worker
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I'm really interested in the conventions that can now take place --held to offer diverse trainings to workers. In my case, I was able to learn a lot from the course in mechanics.  ”

Rufino Obregon, Worker

Programs

Education and Daycare Center

With premium funds, CORSICANA is developing a Education and Daycare Center for workers, their families and community. The first phase of construction, the Education Center, began in late January of this year (2012) and will continue for the next five months. The Day Care will be constructed during the second phase and will also include the construction of a gymnasium, an indispensable feature to be used as play grounds for children and as a public space for community gatherings, in so garnering additional income to invest back in to this project.

A New Learning Center

CORSICANA is building a learning center which will be used to teach English and computer skills. It will provide the community with a place to receive quality education by trained teachers, backed by the country's Ministry of Education. After construction, the facility will expand the quantity and variety of courses aimed at giving families opportunities to increase their income.