By FairTrade America
Producers’ Names: Ediuti Mapunda, Osmane Badru, & Aquilina France
Location: Tanzania
Co-op names: Coffee Mahenge Amcos & KDCU
Commodity: Coffee
“The Coffee Mahenge Amcos cooperative in Tanzania decided to have a public nursery. The new plants need particular attention and are a special job to grow.
Ediuti Mapunda is one of the people in charge of this nursery. He has 8 children and joined the Mahenge cooperative in 2008. He has 1200 coffee plants in his 1 hectare land. He thinks that Fairtrade stimulates sustainable agriculture and better quality. All that makes the cooperative more visible.
Thanks to the better income, he was able to buy cattle to diversify his income. Since then, all of his children will have gone, go or will go to school.
Aquilina France joined the cooperative in 2003 after her husband passed away. She has 5 children and belongs to the cooperative board. Thanks to her participation in Fairtrade, she has a nice home--one she says which we couldn't compare to the small one where she lived before.
Osmane Badru produces white corn to diversify his production. He has 3 hectares where coffee, banana and corn are being produced. He joined the cooperative in 1992. Thanks to his participation in Fairtrade, he was able to pay school fees for his four children.”