The CAFÉ CHORTI initiative was born in Guatemala in the early 2000s. It was born from a desire to join forces to develop a short-circuit trade together in order to benefit from a stable and profitable market, which represents real hope for small producers. Conscious buyers and consumers who opt for Chorti are not only looking for quality and the best price, but also want to contribute to the development of better living conditions for all and the protection of the environment. That is to say, a real revolution in the conditions imposed by capital exclusively oriented towards the interests of those who own it.
Chorti has evolved over the years to become in 2014 a citizen, solidarity and multinational cooperative with a distribution network based on a solid web of human links. An actor in the social economy, placing people before profit, the cooperative brings together coffee producers in Guatemala, processors, distributors and ordinary citizens who love good coffee. An independent sector based on trust, transparency and the participation of each person. Chorti is a company that must be profitable, but where money is a tool and not an end in itself. This is a real step forward in terms of fair trade since all stakeholders have access to all the information and participate in decisions.
In the Chorti region, more than 1,200 families make a living from coffee growing and about a hundred of them offer exceptional beans marketed under the CHORTI brand. The average area per partner is 1.4 ha for a production equivalent to 900 kg of roasted coffee.
Working in a cooperative has allowed forging direct bonds of trust between producers and consumers. Cup after cup, the consumer collaborates on a daily basis in the real transformation of the living conditions of Chorti families.
Lovers of good products are aware that quality has to be paid for. It is not just a question of volume and economies of scale, as the big food groups would have us believe, but also of a lot of labor, requiring fair compensation.