Honduras Small-Scale Coffee Cooperative Organizations: Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Coffee Processing

Many coffee growing regions are known to unite individual farmers through cooperatives, creating small-scale conditions for coffee cultivation and production. This coffee cultivation model is actually very popular in Central and South America, with Guatemalan coffee and Costa Rican coffee also adopting this approach. Here, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce two Honduran coffee organizations.

Café Orgánico Marcala (COMSA)

Founded in December 2001, Café Orgánico Marcala (COMSA) was established with the vision of creating new alternative development opportunities for small-scale coffee farmers in the region. The organization initially brought together 69 small farmers from the Lenca community who were interested in collectively selling their coffee under the protection of a rural credit cooperative.

At that time, the region's primary production system used traditional (chemical) practices and sold to local giants, with prices often barely covering their production costs. One of COMSA's main founding goals was to seek and promote new ways of thinking—both in production, transitioning from traditional to organic farming; and in the market, shifting from commercial buyers to specialty buyers. Under the protection of the rural credit cooperative, they collectively sold their coffee. With support from CEDECO, COMSA's staff and members learned new innovative practices, transforming their lands into integrated organic farms. They are working to promote soil and water conservation as well as the protection of local plants and wildlife. At the same time, members began to see increased coffee yields, better family relationships, and rapid growth in COMSA membership.

As they achieved initial success, members became increasingly willing to try innovative organic practices. Their organic evolution was as follows: 2001 – use of organic materials; 2006 – application of microorganisms in compost; 2010 - exploration of mineral uses; 2012 – production of fermented active solutions; 2013 – strengthening their technical team, members' brainpower, and robust educational programs with youth and women's groups.

To ensure optimal quality control, COMSA now manages its own wet and dry processing facilities and is certified organic by Biolatina, exporting according to FLO, SPP, Denominación de Origen Marcala (DOP), and UTZ standards.

Harvesting takes place from December to February, when gentle sunlight filters indirectly through the farms due to ample shade, shorter days, and cool temperatures. The cherries are hand-picked, carefully selecting fruits that have reached optimal maturity, appear freshest, and have firm, vibrant colors. This meticulous cherry selection requires at least three passes through the same plants to produce high-quality coffee.

After harvesting, the fruits undergo wet processing, where the coffee is depulped and then placed in tanks to ferment for over 36 hours. Any byproducts from this process, such as pulp, are reintegrated into the farm's soil. Finally, the coffee is dried in the sun during an extended drying process.

TechnoServe's Impact in Honduras

In Honduras, TechnoServe is helping coffee farmers like Luis Olvera improve their coffee and join local producer organizations. By doing so, they can connect to better markets and sell their coffee directly in bulk to exporters, thereby obtaining better prices and improved livelihoods. In El Capiro, a remote community located in the northern mountainous region of Honduras, coffee is a way of life. Farmers here have been producing coffee for generations, but poor cultivation techniques, limited quality control, and low prices have made it difficult to earn a living. The situation was so dire that some farmers considered selling farms they had owned for decades. In 2013, TechnoServe began working with more than 5,000 coffee farmers in Honduras through the Sustainable Agricultural Transformation Project (MAS+ in Spanish), funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. At that time, Luis and his neighbors were part of the La Inmensa Jornada producer organization—but they were still selling coffee at low prices through intermediaries or second-tier organizations. TechnoServe also works with private coffee exporters to bring small farmers into agricultural supply chains and market systems by providing training, financing, and technical assistance. This unique approach combines a focus on quality and sustainability, benefiting farmers and their communities.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473