Bellwether Coffee has announced its partnership with Fairtrade International to implement Fairtrade’s Living Income Reference Price in Guatemala, beginning 8 December.
Working alongside Bellwether and Fairtrade International to develop Living Income Pricing for Guatemala are The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Small Producers and Workers (CLAC), The Association of Cooperation for Integral Development of Huehuetenango (ACODIHUE), and Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers.
“We’ve made it our mission to partner with values-aligned organisations committed to ending poverty by paying coffee producers equitable prices based on living income. Our goal at Bellwether is to expand Living Income Pricing across all our supply chains by 2025,” says Grayson Caldwell, Senior Sustainability Manager at Bellwether Coffee.
Fairtrade International’s living income strategy has sustainable procurement practices, including the payment of a Living Income Reference Price as a critical enabler of sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers. According to Bellwether Coffee, this is why building new partnerships with supply chain stakeholders remains vital to crafting a trade system that is fair for all.
“Fairtrade has long been committed to delivering a living income to the world’s smallholder farmers and enabling decent livelihoods for them is a key pillar of our global strategy,” says Senior Advisor for Sustainable Livelihoods at Fairtrade International, Carla Veldhuyzen. “This is our vision for the planet and it’s also one reason why Fairtrade continues to be the world’s leading certification for social justice and sustainability.”
ACODIHUE is Bellwether’s second sourcing partner where contracts will be signed based on Living Income Pricing. These coffees will be available to all Bellwether customers on 8 December. As a result, Bellwether roaster customers will be able to transparently share with their own customers the price, methodology, and impact their purchases are making on farmer livelihoods and their communities.
“We are happy to have commercial partners like Bellwether using Fairtrade’s living income methodology to promote sustainable livelihoods for farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean,” says CLAC´s Commercial Director, Joao Mattos.
“We hope to strengthen our commercial relations in the future to benefit more coffee farmers and Fairtrade certified organisations.”
For more information, visit www.bellwethercoffee.com/living-income-pricing/