Being married to a Brazilian, I’ve grown to understand (and like!) the country and the culture in the last few years. At first glance, farmers seem to be smiling as they talk with me, but on a deeper look, I’ve learnt to recognize it as a nervous smile…
Yes, the current market prices are high, and this might be good for many farmers. But prices can be very volatile, as we have seen in the past. Farmers I met remember the market lows too well, after the happy times of having peak prices. Nowadays, it only gets more complex: the effects of climate change, high input prices due to the war in Ukraine, expensive logistics, and a volatile market… the nervousness under that smile is becoming clearer and clearer to me.
Instead of waiting for the gloomy clouds of storm to gather, or wait for the storm to pass, we decided to take a step forward and strengthen our connection with the farmers even more. Together with our friends from Capricornio, we saw a simple answer: let’s create a market independent from the world market. Let’s do this together. We’ve already proven that this is possible in different markets, but Brazil… Well, let’s just say it’s definitely a different caliber in the coffee industry. Together with our roasters friends we’ve consolidated a volume that can create a stable parallel market. On the basis of what, precisely? Well… on the basis of production costs.
“What does it cost to produce a kilogram of coffee and what do you want to earn as a farmer on top of that?
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Donizete Soares at Fazenda Palmeiras, São Jerônimo da Serra, Paraná, Brazil.
Put those numbers transparently on the table – and it will show a figure that the European market does or does not want to swallow…
Is it too high? Then together you can look at exactly the costs that made it so high. Or is it perceived to be too high, then it can serve as an explanation of why people “on the other side” need exactly this price. It’s a simple approach that comes with a lot of extra benefits.
Let’s take a look at expenses – is there a way to minimize these? Fertilizers are expensive. Could you produce your own on-farm organic fertilizer? Or should you join forces for certain investments with your neighbors?
You’re looking at stability – it’s a relationship built on trust. Both sides of the value chain benefit a lot of a stable product, and intensified collaborations based on quality and tailor made products.
You look at a sales price – it’s about mutual entrepreneurship and acknowledging that as a value chain, we’re dependent on each other: squeezing someone will damage us all, and so will negotiating for extremely high prices. “Finally, we don’t have to sell under cost price anymore and somebody actually cares,” a smallholder farmer of Mulheres do Café Matão told me.
And, last but not least, human connection. This is a product we created together. Farmers become sales agents for their roasters, and roasters become advisors on funky processing techniques.
In practical terms, this deepened approach has consequences for the coffees we offer. We will now be working with four “sources”. Two state of the art estates that are at the forefront of intercropping, reforestation, microbial research and coffee processing experimentation; and two cooperatives of smallholder farmers that have joint forces to create a better livelihood for their families. It is absolutely a different face of Brazilian coffee farmers, and one we can all be very proud of. These four sources will be delivering the coffees for the blends based on flavor stability, the single estate (or cooperative) coffees with their unique story and the experimental microlots with funky pallets.
On the basis of these relationships, Capricornio will provide free agronomical training to improve and stabilize quality. Next to this, we will expand the experiments done on regenerative agriculture. Like this, we will alleviate the lives of smallholder farmers, whilst showing that “doing good” can be done on a big scale. The coffees will be a true homage to the work of both This Side Up and Capricornio: showing what specialty coffee relationships really can do.