Articles
Cooperative Partnerships Rule Over the Market
Dary Goodrich, our Chocolate Products Manager, was recently in Peru, where the cacao harvest is just beginning. With the current global shortage of cocoa and the unprecedented surge in cocoa prices, farmers shared that they were aware of the higher-than-normal prices at the end of last year and invested more in their farms to make sure they would have a great harvest. Dary reflects more on what is happening and what this means for our farmer partners and chocolate lovers like you.
Journey to ACOPAGRO and Connecting Communities with the Origin Bean Program
In 2019, Equal Exchange worked alongside ACOPAGRO cacao co-op of Peru to foster a delegation opportunity like no other. A blend of Equal Exchange worker-owners and customers traveled three hours from the nearest city by boat to learn about cacao farming in the Amazon basin and stayed with gracious hosts who opened their homes and lives to share in this experience.
Checking in with Santiago Paz of Cooperativa Norandino
Santiago Paz, Co-director and Export Manager of Norandino, a cooperative aggregating 90 grassroots organizations in Northwest Peru, is one of the inspiring and visionary leaders who has walked the road with us through the years. Here, he shares what the last few years have meant for Norandino.
Relationships in the Time of COVID
Despite the extra layer of stresses and worries the pandemic is causing, we at Equal Exchange are also feeling a depth of gratitude and affection for the myriad relationships that we have cultivated over these past four decades. Creating, maintaining, and deepening relationships are the pillars that our organization and our business model are built upon.
COVID-19 and Peruvian Avocados: Growing Together Through Hardships
In this update from Eunice Jijon Jarquin and Alyssa Melendez, learn about Equal Exchange’s fair trade avocado partnership with La Grama in Peru, and how co-op farmers are adapting to the challenges of an ongoing global pandemic.
Unconventional Bananas in Peru: Interview with Julio Oscar Gallegos Herrera-Rambla
Equal Exchange works with a movement of independent businesses–farmer co-ops, distributors, stores–to create a banana supply chain that is unconventional at every step. In a sensitive industry, we look to the farmer organizations revolutionizing the banana trade to envision a future in which the industry represents and benefits all stakeholders.
Why Peruvian Avocados Matter
If you’re a U.S. consumer, 8 out of 10 times your avocado will come from Michoacán, Mexico. There are various reasons for this Mexican dominance of the U.S. avocado market, like geographic proximity. However, as consumer demand has continued to boom, it has become clear that other origins are needed to provide a stable and reliable year-round supply for consumers.
What’s a Farmer to Do? TR4 and Small-Scale Producers
Part Two, we explore the particular challenges that small-scale farmers face as they employ TR4 prevention techniques and how various strategies can reduce a farm’s risk of contamination. Governments, research groups, and producers have worked tirelessly to strengthen infrastructure and prevent the disease from spreading.