Fairtrade

Kōkako coffee, cold brew and drinking chocolate are all Fairtrade certified. The Fairtrade Mark is more than a mark, it is a third–party certification proving that what we sell meet social, environmental and economic standards. We chose to adopt the Fairtrade Mark in 2010.

We recognise that there are other ethical certifications schemes available and alternative ways for coffee companies to outline their procurement strategies (this includes direct trade relationships). No system is perfect, but we did our research and concluded that by adopting the Fairtrade Mark our customers could rest assured that the coffee, cocoa and cane sugar we purchase meets ethical and environmental standards. Further to this, we have travelled to origin to check and verify that the Fairtrade system is effective.

Will Valverde of Fairtrade discusses coffee processing with cooperative farmers in Papua New Guinea. Photo by Josh Griggs for Fairtrade ANZ.

We don’t want to compare the Fairtrade system against others, or against other coffee companies procurement strategies. Fairtrade works for Kōkako, and we’d love to see other Specialty Coffee companies purchasing more Fairtrade certified coffee as we’ve seen the positive results ourselves on the ground. We have high internal quality standards, and over time have proven that you can run a 100% Fairtrade certified coffee business that meets the expectations of the specialty coffee community.

Our Managing Director - Mike Murphy, Fairtrade PNG based Liaison Officer - Gabriel Iso, Producer Support Officer - Will Valverde and qualified Coffee Q Grader - José Pablo Juarez from Costa Rica discuss the coffee wet mill with cooperative farmers in Papua New Guinea.

Naomi Morungao, in foreground, is only 19 years old. Her and her family have been a part of the Alang Daom Coffee Estate, Inc. (AD) since 2004 - she has grown up around coffee. The income generated by Naomi’s family as members of AD helped pay for her and her siblings through their schooling years. 

What Fairtrade means
“Fairtrade advocates for improved terms of trade, better working conditions and the empowerment of farmers and workers in developing countries.”

How it works
Fairtrade is not just about equity in a financial sense. It also promotes quality, best practice systems, organisational structure, social and environmental sustainability and a sense of empowerment for producers. It is commonly referred to at origin as a ‘development tool’ for coffee communities.

The market price of all globally traded green coffee is directly linked to the New York stock exchange. Therefore coffee pricing can vary widely depending on numerous external factors. The ‘Fairtrade minimum price’ ensures that when coffee prices drop there is a mechanism to ensure farmers continue to receive a fair price per kilo for their coffee. As well as this, farmers receive a “Fairtrade Premium” and a price premium for organic coffee. The Fairtrade Premium is allocated to the coffee cooperatives which are chaired by a democratically elected committee. The members of the cooperative jointly decide on the allocation of Fairtrade premium spending to ensure that funds are allocated to projects which will either improve the quality of the coffee produced (by purchasing items such as coffee pulpers) or for community projects such as access to clean drinking water or the building of new schools.

This is the third classroom built at the South Fore school, in the Okapa District – all three classrooms were built using funds collected from the HOAC Fairtrade premiums. 

Margaret Kede, a coffee farmer from Papua New Guinea. Margaret is married with three children and is a member of Neknasi Coffee Growers Cooperative Society. Her coffee garden is located in Bandong village. Through Neknasi and Fairtrade Margaret and her family are able to sell their coffee at a fair price and bring income into their community. Margaret’s enthusiasm and knowledge during the coffee picking component of the 2017 Farmer Workshop demonstrated her finesse as a coffee farmer.

Being Fairtrade certified ensures the ongoing integrity of Fairtrade certified supply chains.
Fairtrade also supports coffee cooperatives to build strong businesses and farmer organisations. They provide training in remote producing communities on the importance of Fairtrade, and on best practices for good governance, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and child protection. They also provide technical support around plant husbandry, organic protocols, and improving quality and productivity.

 Coffee farmer, Abel Kemi, from the Untpina Coffee Cooperative with our Managing Director, Mike Murphy.

 Kōkako is proud to be a key partner and licensee of Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand.
We focus on working with coffee growers, brokers and Fairtrade to buy high–grade specialty coffee, while championing quality, ethical procurement and organics. We work particularly closely with HOAC to create positive change for the cooperative’s growers and their families, actively engaging with and educating them on best practice techniques and our coffee market. 

 “Kōkako has been exemplary in its commitment to Fairtrade since it started sourcing Fairtrade Coffee in 2010. The Kokako team has contributed significantly to Fairtrade in the region, going above and beyond what is required by Fairtrade standards; this is especially evident in their relationship with their coffee growing partners, the Highlands Organic Agricultural Cooperative in Papua New Guinea. They have hosted farmers at events in NZ and visited origin on a number of occasions—providing coffee equipment, training and sharing their coffee expertise with farmers. We look forward to another 10 years with Kōkako as we work together to innovate new projects to help empower farmers to deepen our impact together.” Pravin Sawmy, Business Development Manager, Fairtrade ANZ.

 You can find more information about our commitment to Fairtrade in our Sustainability Report.