ASIA | INDONESIA
Empowering Small-Scale Coffee
Producers & Cooperatives in Gayo Region
BACKGROUND
• Indonesia’s Gayo region, with its
abundant rainfall and fertile soil, is
recognized globally for the
market potential of its high quality
Arabica coffee.
• While coffee cooperatives are
expanding to help meet
international demand for Gayo
coffee, not all are succeeding in
the international marketplace.
• Despite increased international
interest, organizational and
technical issues have limited
the ability of cooperatives to
take full advantage of the
international market. And, a
perceived lack of transparency
among cooperatives led buyers
and social lenders to exercise
caution when investing in regional
coffee production.
• In many areas of Gayo, farm
production lags behind other
regional players in this competitive
market. Many coffee producers
also lack the skills and
resources needed to improve
cultivation practices, negatively
impacting their income and the
cooperatives’ ability to meet buyer
demands.
• LWR aims to help farmers
improve coffee quality, increase
productivity, improve access to
capital and become stronger
business partners, all leading to
a better life for farming families.
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS &
COOPERATIVES
December 2012 – May 2013
• In December 2012, LWR began a
collaboration with Fair Trade
USA on its Gayo Coffee
Success Initiative, supporting
coffee cooperatives in building
business acumen, strengthening
market linkages, increasing
access to financial capital and
certification and improving crop
quality.
• Following an assessment of the
project in January 2013, LWR and
Fair Trade USA identified
innovative approaches to better
meet needs and expectations of
participating producers.
April 2013 – April 2014
• By more directly involving
producers in training and
cooperative development, LWR
began the Gayo Coffee Producer
Empowerment Initiative,
reaching more than 2,700
producers from two coffee
cooperatives—Permata Gayo and
GLOC—to better address
producer needs.
•
•
•
26,350 People, including 5,270
Small-Scale Coffee Producers &
Delegates belonging to Permata
Gayo, Gayo Linge Organic Coffee
(GLOC), Koperasi Baitul Qiradh
Baburrayyan (KBQB) and Ketiara
cooperatives.
More than 50 cooperative and
farm management trainings
conducted to strengthen
cooperatives and support
producers with farming challenges.
Installation of eight Wet Mill
Processing Facilities and
Organic Fertilizer facilities to
improve crop quality and
quantity.
With support from:
• To strengthen the capacity of
coffee cooperatives, LWR
provided training and technical
assistance to 72 people—
including 55 delegates and 17
board members, staff and
cooperative management
members.
LWR PARTNERS: Fair Trade USA, Progreso and Rabobank
PROJECT PERIOD: April 2013 – December 2016
PROJECT FUNDING: $478,917
Updated April, 2015
LWR’S REACH
700 Light Street | Baltimore, MD 21230 USA
800.597.5972 | programs.lwr.org
ASIA | INDONESIA
• LWR and Fair Trade USA also
worked to improve farm
management and crop
cultivation through promotion of
pest control, soil management,
use of organic fertilizer and
employment of value-added postharvest management techniques.
More than 630 farmers received
training from 95 cooperative
delegates who attended LWR’s
training of trainers.
• To inform soil management
training, the project tested soil in
24 locations, allowing trainings to
be tailored to the geographic
location.
• LWR and Fair Trade USA piloted
farm-level interventions—
including group production of
needed organic fertilizer and
collective wet mill processing—to
bolster producers’ ability to
increase the value to their coffee.
• To ensure ongoing market and
credit opportunities for
producers and their cooperatives,
the project facilitated visits by
buyers and social lenders to
participating coffee cooperatives.
April 2014 – December 2016
• In addition to working with
Permata Gayo and GLOC, LWR
and Fair Trade USA’s work
expanded to include two
additional cooperatives: Ketiara, a
women-run group, and KBQB.
• To strengthen and empower
cooperatives and help them
overcome perceived weaknesses,
the project includes additional
trainings on cooperative good
governance with group
management, staff and delegates.
Updated April, 2015
• Nearly 300 additional coffee
farmers have been trained in
Good Agricultural Practices
(GAP) leading to economic and
environmental sustainability
for farmers and their
communities.
• The project is supporting the
development of information,
educational and
communication materials for
producers to increase their
knowledge of cooperative
structure and management as
well as Fair Trade certification.
• To build the capacity of
producers in farm management
and coffee production, LWR and
Fair Trade USA are developing
a curriculum and conducting six
Train the Trainer sessions
focused on conservation, soil
management, organic
fertilization, pest and disease
control and micro-finance
opportunities for 120
cooperative delegates.
• The project also supports the
collective production of
organic fertilizer and operation
of two wet mill processing
facilities at the village level.
Future Plans
• LWR and Fair Trade USA expect
the current project approach to
serve as a model that can be
replicated with cooperatives
operating throughout coffeeproducing areas of Aceh and
North Sumatra.
Indonesia is one of the world’s most
disaster-prone countries with millions of
people affected annually by earthquakes,
landslides, floods and tsunamis. LWR
began working in Indonesia following the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, addressing
emergency and long-term development
needs. LWR currently implements projects
in the agriculture, emergency response and
climate change/disaster risk reduction
sectors in Indonesia.
700 Light Street | Baltimore, MD 21230 USA
800.597.5972 | programs.lwr.org