Peru Norandino Cooperative is an association of small-scale coffee producers in northern Peru. The 90 grassroots organizations with more than 6,600 producers, located on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains in Piura.
Cooperativa Norandino brings together three important coffee farmer groups with a long history in Peru. One such organization is the Central Piurana de Cafetaleros (CEPICAFE), which was was founded on March 26, 1995, with 18 primary-level co-op organizations and 200 members. CEPICAFE was founded after years of grassroots work by Arnaldo Neira, Segundo Guerrero and many others. After seeing the success achieved by implementing ecological technical farming systems and marketing quality coffee, more and more producers began to organize.
The second major group of growers who cooperated to create Cooperativa Norandino are from the area of Jaén and San Ignacio in the province of Cajamarca. A generation ago, these growers benefited from the services of the secondary cooperative CECOOAC-NOR, but that group collapsed during the economic chaos that engulfed Peru in the 1980s and 1990s. Small-scale farmers were subjected to the unfair buying practices of private corporations, but were able to organize themselves into new democratic organizations to build their own history. The third group of farmers are located around the San Martín area of northern Peru.
The region where Cooperativa Norandino members grow coffee is in the highlands of northwest Peru. All of Cooperativa Norandino’s coffee is grown by family units. The average area farmed by members is 1.8 hectares (about four acres). The structure of small property allows them to dedicate all their efforts on the cultivation of coffee without damaging the aside forest and fruit species which serve as shade trees to the coffee and supply an important part of the families’ diets. Geographically, the area is located on the western flanks of the Andes Mountains, at altitudes ranging from 900 to 1,400 meters above sea level, and lying very close to Ecuadorian border.
For more information regarding the Peru Norandino Cooperative, check out the their brochure: Fair Adventurers: Meet the Makers – A Different Form of Tourism: Alternative and Responsible.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Peru Norandino, from Anodyne Coffee Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS
origin: Piura, Peru
farm: N/A
producer: smallholder farmers
association: Peru Norandino Cooperative
elevation: 1100 – 1700 meters above sea level
cultivars: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Pache, Villa Sarchi, Catimor
process: fully washed, patio dried
CUPPINGNOTES
FINALTHOUGHTS
*content courtesy of Equal Exchange
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.