Talking about sustainability and what it really means is a big deal to us. We believe in the journey, the ever changing target and working with honesty to integrate society and nature with our economic desires.
Our Coffee is not “Certified”
There is an abundance of peer reviewed articles and research that has been completed that attempts to measure and identify the impacts of sustainable coffee certifications.
We believe there is evidence to support certification mechanisms are not the key driver of positive impacts in a coffee growing community. Policies made by National institutions, management of cooperatives, education of farmers, pre-existing land use conditions, access to facilities like washing stations and in particular the relationship between buyers and growers are more influential in creating change than alignment with a certification mechanism.
Certifications can be criticized because in most cases they do not include flexible requirements for local conditions, they enforce one-way communication mechanisms and in many research examples, have failed to create change in existing farm practices.
Luckily, coffee consumers are changing and we may be riding the ‘Third Wave’ of coffee consumption, which is based on transparency, direct communication and long term relationships between coffee growers and buyers.
Seis Cielo Sustainability Goals
Combined we have over 50 years of working in conservation and environmental management in Honduras and this work is what lead us into the coffee business.
Our future plans are embedded in our sustainability goals and are based on the commitment to remain flexible, adaptable and work on solutions that are unique to the community we are involved with.
How are we achieving our goals?
We are the buyer, the exporter, the importer, the broker and if you shop from us here, the end retailer.
Individual Farmers – Seis Cielo Coffee – You.
If you read about the coffee roasting lead innovators like Temple Coffee Roasters , who are responsible for the concept and measurement of ‘ Return to Origin’ or RTO, you will understand that the prices paid to farmers or the FOB price for green coffee, does not always show the fees of cooperatives, exporters, importers and other parties involved in the transaction.
Transparent Trade Coffee is a online registry where coffee roasters can provide information on the prices paid per lb for green coffee, and a calculation estimate based on industry statistics about how much of that can be considered RTO, or returned to origin.
Transparent Trade Coffee website states: ‘ It is time to clearly and succinctly inform coffee consumers about the economic treatment of coffee growers.’
We couldn’t agree more, and that is why all our coffee will be registered as a Transparent Trade Coffee as it becomes available for retail on our site.
Check out our currently listed coffees here.
Our super direct supply chain also ensures our RTO is easy to calculate accurately since we have NO fees, NO deductions, NO charges to the farmers we work with. What we pay FOB is what they get in their hands. We also paid the registration cost on behalf of our farmers which is a requirement in Honduras for coffee destined for export.
