In my nine years at Equal Exchange, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many far-off and isolated regions to visit our farmer co-op trading partners. I can say with certainty that the small farmer coffee co-operative, CECOVASA (The Organization of Agrarian Coffee Cooperatives of the Sandia Valleys) in southeastern Peru, is situated in one of the most stunningly beautiful and exceptionally remote areas I have yet to experience. Close to the Bolivian border, and near the protected Bahuaja Sonene National Park and the Tambopata-Candamo Nature Reserve, the 5000 farmers that comprise CECOVASA have a challenging situation finding sustainable ways to generate income, feed their families, and develop their communities.

When I visited them in 2003, just getting there presented its own challenge. The trip involved a long flight to Lima, a 2 hour flight to Juliaca, and then an 8 – 10 hour truck ride on a precarious, narrow mountain road which climbed to 5000 meters – that’s 15,000 feet – before going back down to the Sandia valleys; the region where the coffee is grown (at 1000 – 1500 meters). And yes, there was an abyss on either side of the road for most of the trip through the mountains; and yes, we did do it during the rain; and yes, I did hold my breath and shut my eyes numerous times as a fast-moving truck or bus would pass us speeding around a bend on the very, slippery road.)

All of that was just to get us to the small town of Puno where CECOVASA has their regional office. From there, we visited each of the eight primary level co-operatives of mostly Quechuan and Aymara indigenous peoples: each of those co-ops is located another two to six hours from Puno. And I’m very sure that they chose not to take me to visit the most remote of the communities.

Harvesting high-quality, organic coffee is never an easy way for small farmers to make a living – under any circumstances. But for some co-operatives, the particulars of their geographical, topographical, and ecological conditions pose even greater challenges.

If you don’t believe me, click HERE and see what I mean. These 20 photos will tell the story better than I ever could!

Keep in mind that these PHOTOS only show you one of the many sets of tasks (getting coffee from the farms to the mill to be processed) involved in producing, processing, and exporting coffee before it even gets to the United States. Once at Equal Exchange, the coffee still needs to be roasted, blended perhaps, packaged, and delivered to stores, churches, restaurants, cafes, and consumers. These days you can find coffee from CECOVASA in our Organic Peruvian, Organic French Roast, Organic Love Buzz, and Organic Mind, Body and Soul blends.

Enjoy the coffee! Let us know what you think. And remember, in the words of John Lennon… you know, it ain’t easy.