Farmers
Direct Fair Trade means we acknowledge the hard work and risk involved with growing and selling crops. To focus on farmers, we:
- create opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers by supporting small scale* producers that live in remote, rural areas;
- pay a fair price to farmers and producers;
- establish direct trade relationships based on trust and respect by visiting producers regularly;
- pay a fair price and invest social premiums in the farmer's community;
- support sustainable environmental practices;
- promote independence, education and positive work conditions.
*small-scale farmers are defined as farmers who have 5 hectares (12 acres) of land or less
Quality
We value quality. To build for quality throughout all of our products, we:
- source high quality coffee, fruit and sugar;
- invest in quality control and organic practices;
- pay the highest price for the highest quality coffee and other product;
- cup coffee regularly and publish the results.
To operate with transparency and accountability, we:
- publish for every container purchased—price paid for coffee, price paid to farmers, Direct Fair Trade Premiums paid, record of purchase order, market price comparisons, organic certificates and FLO ID's;
- track trading partnership—length of trading partnership, producer learning tours and reports, annual agreements and certificates, capacity building initiatives, producer updates, producer profiles (GPS co-ordinates, No. of farmers, elevation, harvest time and other data kept in a matrix;
- provide opportunities for producers and consumers to ask questions, voice opinions and learn more of our practices and Direct Fair Trade via speaking engagements, producer visits and our website;
- purchase directly from farmer co-ops and their trading partners—when stop-gap purchases are made through a broker, we source the same quality coffee from the same origins and publish these purchases in our website.
