Update from Cocla, Peru

posted at 5:11pm, 05 Feb 10 by Cafédirect HQ [ 1 comment ]

As you may have heard, the Cusco region of Peru has been very seriously affected by heavy rains which have caused severe flooding. We have been in touch with our grower partner in the area, a co-operative called COCLA (whose coffee goes into the Machu Picchu range), to find out more about the effects that these disastrous weather conditions have had on them.

They have told us that the houses, bridges and the farms of a number of producers who lived on the banks of these rivers have been washed away and demolished. Tragically we have also been informed that three members of COCLA have died due to this disaster.

The President of the Cusco region has reported that there are a total of 16,000 hectares of destroyed crops, 25,000 families affected and more than 3,000 houses damaged by the rains. 11 -14 bridges have been washed away or are in danger of collapsing.

In Quillabamba, where the main Cocla facilities are, all the access roads and tracks were blocked. This means that people attempting to get from Quillabamba to Cusco (the nearest large town), had to walk long distances before being able to pick up any transport and then have to transfer many times to avoid the parts of the road that were blocked. Another consequence of this dire transport situation is that the costs of goods have gone up. Therefore everyone living in these areas is being affected, with people on the lowest incomes suffering the most.

When we were visiting this co-operative just last month, we went to visit a famous tourist attraction in Santa Theresa, “Baños Termales de Coclamayo” (Coclamayo Hot Springs). This alongside other tourist attractions such as the ruins of Machu Picchu was a major source of income for the local population, however the hot springs have now totally disappeared under the landslides.

Cafédirect is working closely with the co-operative to offer immediate assistance including funding for tools and food. We are also exploring what longer term assistance is needed to support the farmers who are affected by this disaster.

The funding for both the immediate and the short term assistance comes from the reinvestment of profits from our products and events like this demonstrate just how important it is for all companies to commit to going Fairtrade as a starting point, but to realise that its not the finishing line. It is important to not only pay a minimum price for the crops, but to have direct relationships with growers and to plough back profits to develop sustainable businesses and provide long term support. The effects of climate change make this all the more important and urgent. The consumer voice is highly influential in this campaign and you can make yourself heard by choosing purchases carefully and supporting those businesses that trade ethically.

Comments

Richard Baggott says:

February 17, 2010 at 8:34 pm

We visited Peru with Traidcraft in 2008 and stayed at the Cocla Lodges. How are Tomas and his family and Jorges the 82 yr old tea grower.

Send our best wishes
Helen and Richard Baggott