Nicaragua Las Hermanas - Regenerative Organic Certified®

SOPPEXCCA is a cooperative located in the jungles of Jinotega, Nicaragua. There was a time when Soppexcca struggled with its financial management. Debts piled up and members lost trust in the organization. In the early 2000s however, an ambitious agronomist name Fatima Ismael assumed leadership of the cooperative and quickly became a trusted leader among the farmers. Fatima brought a fresh vision to the group that emphasized solid business practices, transparent operations, and progressive initiatives to improve the quality of life of the cooperative’s members and gender equality.

This coffee, called Las Hermanas (“The Sisters”), was produced by the women producers of SOPPEXCCA. Since 2002, Sustainable Harvest, a specialty coffee importer based in Portland, has helped the women producers of SOPPEXCCA develop their coffee brand and partner with specialty coffee buyers. The success of Las Hermanas has distinguished the women within the cooperative and their communities, and higher profits have funded a micro-credit loan program that the women can use to invest in their farms and their families. With only 87 members initially, the sisterhood of Las Hermanas has grown over the years, and currently consists of over 240 women growers.

Las Hermanas invests some of the proceeds from the sales of their coffee back into community projects that include: water treatment, cervical cancer screening, school supplies, art supplies, musical instruments, farm equipment, food security programs, Roya agricultural training and prevention, farm restoration, and infrastructure for a produce market and a small cocoa factory to generate alternative streams of income.

Climate change is disproportionately affecting the tropical and subtropical regions where coffee is grown:

50% of global land area suitable for coffee production may be lost by 2050 due to climate change

60% of coffee species are considered at high risk of extinction

25M smallholder coffee growers are at risk of losing their primary source of income due to declining coffee yields

Regenerative agriculture--a practice of holistic farming where everything is seen as interconnected and vital--can build resilience to mitigate the effects of climate change and protect the future of coffee and our planet. ROC™ was established in 2017 to promote holistic agriculture practices in an all-encompassing certification that champions three pillars:

Soil Health & Land Management
Animal Welfare
Farmer & Worker Fairness

In addition to being Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™), Las Hermanas is also Fair Trade certified.