People
The coffee region of Mogiana (part in São Paulo, part in Minas Gerais) is home to sizeable cooperatives, which play a critical role in contributing to the social and economic development of their region, especially in the coffee sector. In the wide network of coffee farms based in Ibiraci, the cooperative COCAPIL stands out as the perfect example.
With about 1.300 members, among which you can find several award-winning producers in the most important international coffee competitions, (See El Dorado story), COCAPIL manages all the transparent commercial relationships with coffee farmers.
“My father asked to work here. I was 17 years old and I fell in love” – Elvis Vilhena Faleiro
COCAPIL was founded in 2001 when Elvis Vilhena Faleiro’s father (Laerce França Faleiros) together with 12 other producers of the region decided to set up the cooperative. The main idea behind was to give the opportunity to small and medium farmers to place the best coffee of Brazil to the market.
The first export was realized in 2017, but the history of these coffee farmers is much older. Elvis’ father has always worked in coffee production, but he focused mainly on the internal market. The interview with Elvis suggests a strong willingness to continue learning more and improve the cooperative activities. They decided to stop focusing on quantity and started looking for higher quality, adding value to farmers.
Product
Next to producing larger quantities of commercial quality, they manage to create balanced lots that showcase stone fruity in combination with classic milk chocolate. Cocapil understands the Gold standard and provides an economically priced coffee with “that something extra”.
We are happy to see COCAPIL managing their transparency and traceability as essential elements to raising the standards. They make sure producers and employees receive proper training about harvest or coffee processing, Thanks to the support of local municipalities or other associations like Syngenta they also provide lectures focused on quality.
“Coffee is my life, my passion. I’ve always been involved, even just helping my father” – E. V. Faleiro
Price
One of the biggest challenges today is to pay the producer a fair price and maintain a good relationship among coffee farmers. For this reason, Cocapil is fully committed to price transparency and coffee traceability. It’s important that not only the client but also every single farmer knows exactly which is the journey of the coffee, from crop to cup.
Planet
COCAPIL is 100% family owned, they care about the right value paid to the coffee farmers, for this reason their mission is to export more coffee with higher added value, to markets that have sustainability and quality in high regards.
In a market where specialty coffee is demanding higher standards every year, the role of cooperatives is pivotal to raise awareness among producers and encourage them to move towards higher quality and more sustainable practices. In this scenario, COCAPIL fully recognizes the importance of the environment, which is vital not only for the coffee production but also for our lives and community.
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