--- -José Rogério, Coorpol Member-

Cooperativa Regional Industrial e Comercial de Producao Agri (COORPOL) is a cooperative that was first formed in 1998 as an association of agricultural families who pooled their resources to produce and sell coffee on the global market. In 2006 the group became Fair Trade Certified. Recently, the number of COORPOL members dramatically increased from 40 to 75 farms. One third of the farms have achieved organic certification.

The Brazil Responsible Sourcing Partnership
Coorpol is one of fourteen Brazilian Fair Trade Certified producer groups participating in the Responsible Sourcing Partnership (RSP) project. The RSP project is a result of a partnership between USAID, TransFair USA, Walmart Stores, Inc. and SEBRAE designed to improve the quality of Brazilian coffee, increase market linkages and raise producer capacity. Through participation in the RSP project, Coorpol has been able to improve available infrastructure and in turn the quality of their coffee and has benefited from training programs and increased contact with the U.S. coffee market

Coorpol Member Paulo Cesar Afonso is shown in the photo on the right on his organic farm.

The Fair Trade price has enabled workers at COORPOL to establish various social and productive programs

Education.
The cooperative developed rural schools that provide basic education to nearly 1,000 children within the region each year. COORPOL also developed a school garden project in elementary schools to raise awareness of cooperatives, the environment and conscious consumption.

Productive Investment.
COORPOL purchased six bicycles for technical assistance workers to use as they travel from farm to farm. In 2008, the cooperative also invested in new coffee processing equipment for the main warehouse. In 2009, Coorpol invested much of their Fair Trade Premium in building producer members capacity in machine use, proper handling of agro-chemicals and coffee production best practices.

Environment.
Garden Project in the Schools- developed as an initial project in Luna, ES and expanded to others- aims to build gardens in rural public schools, to raise awareness of cooperativism, the environment, and conscious consumption.

Health.
Health training and lectures for associate members about use of chemical fertilizers, first aid and care for labor accidents.

Womens Programs.
The cooperative established regular meetings for its female members for education about coffee cultivation and alternative sources of income for their families.