Honey APROCOMSA

Honduran Coffee: APROCOMSA Cooperative Specialty Coffee

Asociacion de Productores COMSA (APROCOMSA) is the producer association of Café Orgánico Marcala S.A.(COMSA). COMSA was founded with a vision of creating new and alternative development opportunities for small-scale coffee farmers with a focus in the region of Marcala, Honduras. The coffee cooperative originally brought together 69 small-scale farmers who were of Lenca origin. These coffee producers were interested in selling their Honduran coffee beans collectively under the umbrella of a rural credit union.

At that time, the predominant production system in the region used conventional (chemical) practices and sold to the local coyotes. Often the coffee was sold at prices that did not even cover the farmers’ production costs. One of the primary founding objectives of COMSA was to seek-out and promote new ways of thinking as they relate to production, moving from conventional to organic production, and in coffee markets. These changes have shifted their sales from commercial to specialty coffee buyers. Today, the COMSA Cooperative sells Honduran coffee beans that are produced by over 1200 farming members. Their lead farmers continue to demonstrate effective, regenerative organic practices. Ultimately, they are both improving productivity and protecting their coffee plants from common diseases.

Thanks to our friends at Cooperative Coffees for helping us share the story of our friends at APROCOMSA.