9 Takeaways From Our Trip to the Coffeelands of Colombia
One of the more unusual things that Equal Exchange does is to invite our staff and our customers to visit coffee farming communities in person. In November 2024, we sent a delegation of Equal Exchange staff, food co-op buyers, and end consumers—all vital members of the alternative supply chain we are building together—to visit the farmer group ASPROCAFE Ingruma in Colombia.
These are their takeaways from the trip. What a treat to hear reflections from those travelers! Click on the squares below to jump to each takeaway.
Why we organize these trips
“It’s culturally important to do these trips to origin.
There’s something so different about learning about coffee—cultivation, production, the global market—and then experiencing the on-the-ground tactile reality of small-scale coffee farms, the producers behind them, and living their life for a day or two. It’s so powerful. It helps us advocate for these farmers and their organizations.”
—Ashley Krant, Equal Exchange Sales Manager and trip co-leader
Above left: Anna Filiatreault makes fresh orange juice with her host family. Above right: Jason Krautkramer of People’s Food Coop in La Crosse, Wisconsin, looks at the drying platform for the de-pulped coffee beans before they are sorted and bagged for transport to the cooperative’s point of sale in Riosucio. Farmer Miguel’s wife Gloria looks on. Their home supply of wood for cooking fuel can be seen below the platform.
The value of a co-op for small farmers
“We learned how being a member of a co-op helps the individual farmers to grow great quality coffee.
It was deeply meaningful to be with these farm families. We witnessed firsthand all the labor and steps that farmers must undertake to cultivate coffee, process it, and get it ready for export. ASPROCAFE helps with meaningful services and resources: providing credit, agricultural advice, and troubleshooting. The co-op supports everything—from farming, through milling the coffee, to getting it ready for export. The co-op also helps farmers invest in the future, including managing a nursery where they reserve coffee beans from good coffee trees and cultivate seedlings for future plantings. This experience has really changed how I see a cup of coffee.”
—Susan Redlich, Equal Exchange Citizen-Consumer Advocate and Board Member
Above left: At the co-op’s headquarters. Above right: Susan and Jason pose with farmers and their family members at a celebration hosted by Asprocafe Ingruma to welcome the Equal Exchange delegation.
The cost vs. the value of our food
“I’m still subject to those typical habits of complaining about the cost of the food that we eat, even when I know all of the work that goes into it. I don’t think that I’ll be doing that after this trip. It opened up my heart.
When I asked the farmers why they farm organically, they said it’s because it’s the right thing to do—for the planet, their community, and for their children’s safety. They take a lot of pride in the work that they’ve done on their farms for generations. To meet these people and spend less than 48 hours with them and to have forged such a strong connection is just beyond words. Really beyond words.”
—Alli Johnson, Weaver Street Market Buyer
Above left and center: Farm life in Riosucio. Above right: Rocio with coffee beans.
Going against the (chemical) norm
“These farmers who are choosing organic really believe in it. I feel so inspired and motivated to support them.
On this trip, I learned that Colombia’s government has put a lot of resources and money into building the coffee sector of the country and marketing it globally to put the name of Colombian coffee on the map.
Farmers talked about how the National Coffee Federation—the public/private apparatus that runs the coffee industry in Colombia—has poured resources into what they call the “green revolution” (a misleading name!), pushing industrial-scale agriculture for Colombia to boost the GDP and export as much coffee as possible.
That effort is all conventional, pushing the full use of chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides, the works. ASPROCAFE and the organic farmers we stayed with are truly working as the alternative to this conventional system, with a lot going against them.”
—Leah Madsen, Equal Exchange Sales Manager and trip co-leader
Our mutual needs and connections
“One of the reasons that I love going to the farmers market in my own town is that you get to complete that handoff from farmer to consumer. With a product like coffee, we aren’t able to have that farmer handoff here in the United States.
Equal Exchange is able to be that handoff, bringing the farmers’ stories and faces to each cup. I brought back so much more appreciation for every bean that goes into every cup of coffee, and I’ll share that with my customers.”
—Jake Williams, Equal Exchange Sales Rep, Portland, OR
The care put into coffee farming
“I get to handle and deliver this coffee almost every day in the US. And I will never spill again! I now treasure every single bean because I realize how valuable each bean is and how much love and dedication goes into the creation of our organic coffee.
One of the tricky parts was communication since I’m not fluent in Spanish. Ashley (from Equal Exchange) brought a game, and we played it with our homestay families. It was ridiculous and silly, but it brought everyone together and helped us connect.”
—Lisa Landry, Equal Exchange Direct Store Delivery Driver, Sacramento, CA
Food security and a movement of co-ops
“At first, you notice there are trees and mountains. And then it’s like, ‘Oh, everything is food!’ Bananas, corn, citrus, sugar, coffee. The landscape is incredibly beautiful and abundant with food.
One of the things we heard from farmers was that the fair trade premium helps support them so that they don’t have to put all their land into coffee but can also grow a lot of their own food.
This trip solidified to me the importance of co-ops to the food system. There are producer co-ops like ASPROCAFE Ingruma. And co-ops like Equal Exchange, which links the farmer co-op to food co-ops like River Valley Market, which also works with our own local community farmers. I really felt the connection to the good that we’re doing in the world.
I did a little research when I got back. In the last year, River Valley Market sold about 22,000 pounds of Equal Exchange organic coffee, which supports the harvest of 11 farmers. So now I want to measure that [going forward] and see if we can increase it!”
—Rochelle Prunty, River Valley Market General Manager
Above: Cacao, citrus, bananas, chayote, beans, and corn are just a few of the edible plants that farmers cultivate amongst coffee trees here.
Building a business that prioritizes relationships
“We try to exist in this non-exploitive alternative to straight capitalism. We got to see this work in action, being in Colombia, faced with the big coffee companies and the big infrastructure there, with systems that push for conventional (non-organic) coffee, and to see what the organic farmers at ASPROCAFE are achieving through a different approach, giving so much of themselves to this organic work they believe in.
With this unique delegation, we got to experience the human side of the supply chain, from the farmers and their co-op, to Equal Exchange, to grocery buyers, and to consumer activists.
To me, that was one of the most special parts of the trip: to be able to feel the connections of all aspects of the supply chain and all the things that we’re collectively trying to do to shake consumers, buyers, vendors, grocers and everybody else out of this stupor that, unchecked, is leading us toward a not-so-pleasant track.”
—Luke Fowler, Equal Exchange Sales Manager and Board President
Shared commitments toward change
“There was a lot of walking up and walking down. Organic farming takes place on the mountainside. But it’s not just the terrain that’s challenging.
These organic farmers are literally and figuratively fighting an uphill battle to protect our planet and preserve a natural, beautiful, and abundant way of life.
When I have a choice, and I buy organic, I am joining these farmers that I met; joining them in this noble quest. I invite each of us to add our own actions to this movement.”
—Terry Steele, Citizen Consumer Advocate
