Created in 2007 with the support of the Lao government and the French Development Agency (AFD), the “Bolaven Plateau Coffee Producers Cooperative” or CPC (formerly known as AGPC) is a prime example about what is possible when small-scale farmers join forces. By today, the 100% farmers’ own organization consists of about 1,422 coffee growing households spread in 54 villages and thus has come a long way since its establishment in 2007, when it started from scratch. The organization is now continuing to grow with export outreaching 1,000 tons of green coffee per year.
The 1,422 smallholders families that make up the CPC have an average of 3 hectares of plantations. Considered as poor producers, these men and women have found through the cooperative means of decent living from their work and take charge of their own destiny and that of their communities. Being included in a responsible value chain and producing high quality coffee enable the cooperative’s members to establish trustful relationships with roasters and international traders and so, to sell their coffee, Organic & Fairtrade certified, with a better value-added.
Can be regarded as the “voice of coffee smallholders of the Bolaven Plateau”, the CPC is also mandated to represent its members at the government level, within the coordination bodies of the Lao coffee supply chain at domestic and international levels, and for all activities related to coffee. The cooperative is thus involved in several projects to strengthen the entire Lao coffee supply chain, for example by participating in the establishment of a Geographical Indication (GI) for Bolaven coffees.
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