Peru Chirinos
La Prosperidad de Chirinos, also known as “Chirinos”. Situated in the San Ignacio Province at 1800 meters, Chirinos shares its name with the community it inhabits. Although Chirinos is larger than many of the cooperatives we work with in Peru, they are certainly the most quality focused. They have made tremendous investments in their lab and quality control training program,
...read more both for employees and for producer members.
The Chirinos is Certified Organic and Fair Trade.
Founded in 1968, Chirinos is currently comprised of 728 producer members and some pioneer members can still be seen helping out around the cooperative. Chirinos exports around 60 containers per year – 75% of which is FTO Certified and approximately 20% is women produced coffee. For the past several years, Chirinos has been working hard to highlight exemplary micro-lots from dedicated members. Located anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours away from the community, most producers have around 4-5 hectares of land. The vast majority of this coffee comes from high altitudes, giving it great complexity and sought after acidity. During our stay, we had the opportunity to visit four cooperative members. One of the most fascinating features of this cooperative is their dedication to their members’ well-being through the diversification of their lands. Past and current projects include:
Sheep: Each producer receives two sheep. When they reproduce, the offspring are passed on to new producers, joining the coop.
Guinea Pigs: Farmers are sold 1 male guinea pig and 6 female guinea pigs, and are trained on how to raise them. Guinea Pigs, known as “cuy” are consumed regularly as a source of protein.
