Peru – Las Mujeres Amoju **NEW HARVEST**

16 EUR

“Amoju” is an Awajun word that means “source of fresh water,” and it is also the name of a cooperative founded in 2016 that brings together small coffee producers from northern Peru. The coop was formed as member growers of the organization began to notice that the productivity of their farms was decreasing due to the presence of weeds competing with coffee plants. This reduces the availability of nutrients for the coffee plants and increases the risk of pests. Unfortunately, in Peru and other parts of the world, glyphosate is used as a herbicide to combat this competition between weeds and coffee plants. However, at the same time, this chemical also poses a threat to the health of the producers, those who consume the coffee, and the soil in which it grows. Additionally, the presence of glyphosate in a batch of coffee also means losing the status of an organic product and, with it, the opportunity to sell it as such. Faced with all these challenges, the Amoju cooperative and its members proposed the following actions, which they included in their sustainability plan. 1. Prepare an integrated management plan for competing plants. 2. Propose to coffee growers the installation of agroforestry systems to contribute in conserving forest and with it, sources of water 3. Propose and implement crop diversification to contribute to the food security of coffee farmer The Amoju cooperative lives up to its name because they have demonstrated their commitment not only to producing good coffee but also to conserving forests, which in turn ensures the preservation of water sources or “amojus” in Awajun. We source this coffee through Cultivar, a small wholesaler based in Madrid and Peru who specialise in coffees only from Peru with a presence in Cajamarca, in Peru. The cooperative has solid experience in working with organic production, fostering long term relationships between both growers and aligns with our values and efforts to offer coffees with meaningful stories behind them.

Origin

Peru Cajamarca