Each February/March, Fairtrade runs Fairtrade Fortnight. Throughout the two weeks thousands of companies and individuals share the stories of the people who produce and grow our food, drinks, cotton or mine gold.
ASCARIVE’s Fairtrade Journey
The story we want to tell this Fairtrade Fortnight belongs to ASCARIVE coop in Brazil. This is where our Smokin’ Bean Rocha beans are produced; they are even named after Senhor Paulo Ribeiro Rocha, who is a member of this cooperative.
The Associação Dos Cafeicultores do Vale do Rio Verde, commonly known as ASCARIVE, is a Fairtrade coffee organisation located in the southern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was founded in 2008 and is made up of family farmers. In 2019 it became Fairtrade, which has allowed ASCARIVE to not only obtain better prices for its coffee, but to push them to produce as sustainably as possible and preserve their natural environment.
How ASCARIVE used their Fairtrade Premium
Since becoming Fairtrade certified, ASCARIVE has invested the Premium in improving coffee quality and productivity. Members now have access to fertilisers to improve soil quality and reduce overall production costs and all members sell their coffee equally through the cooperative.
In 2016, ASCARIVE also developed a water conservation project using their Fairtrade Premium. The organisation used funds from the Fairtrade Premium to donate septic tanks, to avoid cross contamination of water sources. This also helped raise awareness about the importance of water conservation and management.
Up until now, approximately 80 families have benefited from the project.
Fairtrade’s impact on ASCARIVE
Senhor Rocha says: “For us, Fairtrade has opened doors, supporting us in production, as well as with our health. After we started working as a group, we realised how difficult it really is to succeed alone. Working together, we have managed to produce higher quality coffee and sell it for a better price.”
Maria Paula Rocha, Business Manager as ASCARIVE says “I hope that our passion for Fairtrade and coffee will inspire more companies and reach as many people as possible so that together we can build a more just world for everyone.”
Maria Paula Rocha with Paulo Ribeiro Rocha
Why choose Fairtrade?
By choosing Fairtrade, you are choosing to support coffee farmers by offering a living wage as well as an additional premium that is used to directly improve the growers’ local community. You become part of a community of coffee lovers, including farmers, coffee drinkers, campaigners and like-minded businesses who want to make the world a fairer and more sustainable place.