The department of Morazan, an area of ancient forests, has a long tradition of coffee cultivation. Indigenous languages that are spoken by very few in the community identify this land as "Lenca", which roughly translates to "The Land of Abundant Water". The bounty of fresh water, fertile land, and incredible altitudes lead to the formation of "cloud forests,"which protect plants from extreme weather. The El Rio Grande de San Miguel, one of the main water sources for the eastern part of El Salvador, feeds over 20 communities and allows producers to flourish even with harsh weather fluctuations and droughts. The community is working with our importing partners, Caravela, to maintain forest-shade tree growth and fend off encroaching deforestation by timber and sawmill businesses by growing coffees that command higher premiums. This enables sustainable innovations such as diversification of coffee cultivars for greater yields and the construction of raised African drying beds.
 
Impact:
 
Living Income Pricing 
 
80% of the world’s coffee farmers live below the poverty line and current prices paid to farmers do not meet farmers’ livelihood needs. This coffee was purchased using Bellwether’s Living Income Pricing benchmark which ensures that coffee producers were paid a fair, sustainable wage. By purchasing this coffee you’re helping interrupt poverty among coffee farmers by paying a price that closes the living income gap. 
 
 
Farmer Impact Fund
 
The Farmer Impact Fund further invests in coffee communities through direct balloon payments to producers who have autonomy to use the money on community and farm-level projects. By adding a small surcharge to your green coffee purchase, these funds are directly distributed to farmers, providing a direct connection between you and your customers to the lives of producers for the first time in the coffee industry.