 |
Welcome to QualityCoach.Net |
Specializing in
Quality & Productivity
Improvement |
|
Shade Grown Coffee
In the most literal sense, shade grown coffee refers to coffee that is
cultivated under a canopy of shade trees. Looking at it from a broader
perspective, shade grown coffee is grown with attention given to the soil, the
land and its inhabitants.
The typical shade grown farm --- like the farms that make up the Luis Alberto
Cooperative, a member of PRODECOOP in Nicaragua --- is made up of coffee trees
grown under a canopy of taller trees. These are often food crops like bananas
and other shade trees that provide protection for the coffee and are beneficial
to the soil.
This type of farm as is refered to as a "traditional
shade", a type of farming which performs many functions. It lessens the
need for harmful chemical inputs by naturally protecting the coffee, provides
additional food and income for farmers and offers a home to many species of
migratory and indigenous birds. There are various levels of shade ranging from
"rustic" shade where coffee is planted in existing forest to
"specialized shade" where taller trees are planted for the sole
purpose of protecting coffee plants.
Putting the Farmers First
At First Glance "shade grown" looks to be about birds, their
preservation and the protection of their natural habitats in coffee growing
regions. Take a deeper look and you will see that shade grown coffee
concerns the lives of not just migratory birds, but of coffee farmers and their
communities. These are issues at the heart of the fair trade movement.
Much of the world's coffee is grown by small scale farmers. Due to the low
prices paid by the conventional coffee market, many of these farmers are forced
to clear cut their land in hopes of growing more coffee and increasing overall
production. This increase comes at a cost to their communities, their land and
local wildlife.
Fair trade coffee provides an alternative for these farmers.
Because Our coffee from Equal Exchange is buys direct, provides
pre-harvest credit and always guarantese a minimum floor price, trading
partners have a chance to break the cycle of poverty and can make the economic
choice to farm their land sustainably. By doing so they are able to grow
alternative cash and food crops in addition to coffee, protect themselves and
their families from harmful chemical inputs, preserve the land and soil for
future generations and protect local and migratory birds.
And when you purchase Equal Exchange coffee from QualityCoach.Net , you make all
of this possible, helping us help small farmers as they build a better future
for themselves and their communities.
Learn
More and or buy Shade Grown Coffee.
