The Region
Cajamarca is a large region in the north of Peru, including Jaén, San Ignacio, Cutervo , Santo Domingo and Hualgayoc. The remote location of coffee growing areas within Peru can be a challenge for farmers and exporters alike, with much of the coffee grown up to 8 hours away from the nearest town where they might sell. This could be one of the influencing factors into why nearly all the coffee is home-processed and dried at farm-level, as it allows the farmer to retain more control over when to sell. If cherry, rather than parchment coffee, was being sold by the farmers they would have to sell on the day of harvest – regardless of the price that day, or their own personal need for finance at a particular time of the crop, for example if they had to purchase school equipment for their children.
But because of the geographical challenges within Peru this has meant coffee is often sold locally to a buyer in their community, transported a little closer and sold again, and this model repeated until it reaches its destination. This can be tricky as both traceability and quality can be lost on this journey, so utilising micro-buying stations closer to these communities allows buyers to identify coffees with huge potential. This benefits the farmers and communities in a number of ways, primarily that farmers receive a fair price for the coffee regardless of market conditions that day.
