Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union
Encyclopedia
The Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) is an Ethiopia
n agricultural cooperative federation
, established in June 1999, representing approximately 102,950 coffee
growers, processors, and exporters of the Oromia Region
of southern and western Ethiopia. The union's members are organized into 115 cooperative
s. They grow coffee of the arabica
species exclusively, and produce both conventionally grown
and organically grown
beans. The union has chosen to bypass many of the middlemen that characterize the international coffee trade, sorting, roasting, and exporting its own coffee rather than simply growing and picking it the way most other Ethiopian coffee farmers do. The union returns 70 percent of its gross profits to its cooperatives.
According to the OCFCU's website, the union's goals are as follows:
The OCFCU's headquarters are located in Addis Ababa
, Ethiopia's capital, and its General Manager is Tadesse Meskela
.
Meskela and the OCFCU are featured in the 2006 documentary film Black Gold.
On January 30, 2007, Meskela had a meeting with the United Kingdom
's prime minister, Tony Blair
.
The OCFCU has received assistance from Oxfam International
to upgrade its offices.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n agricultural cooperative federation
Cooperative federation
A co-operative federation or secondary co-operative is a co-operative in which all members are, in turn, co-operatives.Historically, co-operative federations have predominantly come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies and co-operative unions...
, established in June 1999, representing approximately 102,950 coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
growers, processors, and exporters of the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of southern and western Ethiopia. The union's members are organized into 115 cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
s. They grow coffee of the arabica
Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
species exclusively, and produce both conventionally grown
Conventionally grown
Conventionally grown is an agriculture term referring to a method of growing edible plants and other products. It is opposite to organic growing methods which attempt to produce without synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms...
and organically grown
Organically grown
is a privately held Delaware limited liability company owned by Organically Grown Group LLC, with offices in Encino, California. Julia and Robert Stein founded the company in October 2007. Organically Grown's mission is to provide affordable, fashionable, organic, worker-friendly products to the...
beans. The union has chosen to bypass many of the middlemen that characterize the international coffee trade, sorting, roasting, and exporting its own coffee rather than simply growing and picking it the way most other Ethiopian coffee farmers do. The union returns 70 percent of its gross profits to its cooperatives.
According to the OCFCU's website, the union's goals are as follows:
- To improve the farmer's income by exporting their coffee
- To maintain the quality of coffee production
- To improve and maintain the sustainability of the coffee industry
- To improve the quality and productivity of Ethiopian coffee
- To regulate and stabilize local markets
- To provide farmers and clients with reliable service
The OCFCU's headquarters are located in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, Ethiopia's capital, and its General Manager is Tadesse Meskela
Tadesse Meskela
Tadesse Meskela is the General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union of Ethiopia and was featured in the documentary Black Gold. He is a proponent of fair-trade, and speaks publicly in support of it around the world....
.
Meskela and the OCFCU are featured in the 2006 documentary film Black Gold.
On January 30, 2007, Meskela had a meeting with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's prime minister, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
The OCFCU has received assistance from Oxfam International
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
to upgrade its offices.