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Tue, Mar 24, 2015 - 4:01pm

Soil Fungi and the Advantages of Organic Coffee Farming in Nicaragua

Anonymous (not verified)
March 24, 2015

Don Juan Mora, a small-scale organic coffee farmer in Nicaragua, reached down and took a piece of organic material that was covered with a fungal mat from the soil on his farm. “When you see this, it means the soil is good and coffee plants will do well,” he said. As a master gardener back in the U.S., this made me think more about soil and its importance. A commonly used axiom in gardening and horticulture is the statement that “soil is not dirt.” This simple but profound gardening proverb suggests that healthy soil is a complex mixture of minerals, organic matter, air, water and millions of different living organisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms, gastropods and more). We should think of healthy soil as a living, breathing organism which needs to be nourished in order to support plant and animal life. This concept has also been called the “soil food web” to denote the interdependent nature of these relationships.

Mon, Feb 2, 2015 - 1:13pm

Gender Equity Workshop: Nicaragua, Part II

Beth Ann Caspersen
February 2, 2015

Equal Exchange is proudly supporting the Coffee Quality Institute’s Gender Equity program as a Sustaining Partner. Equal Exchange Coffee Quality Manager Beth Ann Caspersen participated in the second of four international workshops in Palacaguina, Nicaragua in January. This is the second of two blog posts about the experience.

Wed, Jan 21, 2015 - 3:38pm

Gender Equity Workshop: Nicaragua

Beth Ann Caspersen
January 21, 2015

Equal Exchange is proudly supporting the Coffee Quality Institute’s Gender Equity program as a Sustaining Partner. Equal Exchange Coffee Quality Manager Beth Ann Caspersen participated in the second of four international workshops in Palacaguina, Nicaragua, last week. This is the first of two blog posts from Beth Ann about the experience.

Tue, Nov 18, 2014 - 2:41pm

Cooperation in Quality 2014: Chiapas

Beth Ann Caspersen
November 18, 2014
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In 2004, we launched a training program called Cooperation in Quality as a means to empower coffee cuppers within the cooperative supply chain with the knowledge necessary to produce specialty coffee. That first year we invited six cuppers from Nicaragua to Equal Exchange for a week of roasting and cupping coffee as a way to share information about how specialty coffees are selected and graded.

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