Foundation for Conservation & Development
Growers
Group
Agroartesenal Association of Ecological Producers of Specialty Coffee from Loja (APECAEL)
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Agroartesenal Association of Ecological Producers of Specialty Coffee from Loja (APECAEL)
The Agroartesenal Association of Ecological Producers of Specialty Coffee from Loja was able to get its business license a year ago; however, the coffee growers of this organization had been working together since 2006. The association was formed in order to organize the local "cafetaleros" or coffee producers and to improve the coffee production in both the quality and quantity grown as well as to support local development.
APECAEL is comprised of 13 small groups of coffee farmers from all over the southern part of the Loja province who have joined together to give themselves more power in the coffee industry. Two advantages to their unification are that they will now receive a better price for their harvest and they can train the association’s members on new techniques and practices. Their goal is to improve each step in the chain of coffee production. First, they will be create nurseries to grow new plants. They will also conduct management and maintenance trainings on a routine basis and improve post-harvest processes through implementing a coffee washing practice. Lastly, the association through its unification will enhance the overall commercialization of the area.
Objectives for APECAEL are defined in the following:
- To improve the production and quality of coffee through innovative techniques, such as post-harvest coffee washing and the ongoing replacement of old or diseased coffee plants.
- To support the small coffee producers in the commercialization process in order to achieve socio-economic improvement.
- To promote natural resource conservation and protection while educating the coffee growers on the sustainable use of coffee fields.
- To diversify the ecosystems in and around the coffee fields.
- To encourage farmers to cultivate other financially beneficial crops on their farms in order to widen their product offering in the market.
