PRODECOOP is a second-level cooperative organization that groups 38 grassroots cooperatives made up of 2,300 small producers, 27% of whom are women. These producers and their respective cooperatives are located in the departments of Esteli, Madriz, and Nueva Segovia, in northern Nicaragua. On average, they export 30,000 coffee bags, of which 50% of the total volume is organic and Fair Trade certified.

Over its existence, PRODECOOP has developed a long line of programs that aim to support their members in a multitude of different ways. From a program that creates 3,000 packages each year of school supplies and backpacks that are delivered to school children, encouraging school attendance and proficiency. Funds that give women producers, producers’ wives, and producers’ daughters access to loans allowing for ventures and opportunities such as starting small businesses. Programs training people in the prevention of cervical cancer. Dedicated to educating people on diversifying their food securities through the farming of different crops and maintaining livestock, such as chickens, pigs, and cattle. And so many more!

PRODECOOP is a cooperative organization comprising 38 smaller member cooperatives and more than 2,300 farmer members. About 30 percent of the membership is female. The cooperative is certified Fairtrade and 100 percent of its members participate. The average annual export for the co-op is 30,000 bags, about half of which is certified organic. Many producers deliver their cherry to a central processing unit such as a mill or cooperative, where it will be depulped and fermented in open-air tanks for 8–12 hours before being washed, generally speaking. Coffees are usually dried on patios. Nueva Segovia is a higher-altitude region of Nicaragua and is one of the primary sourcing regions for Cafe Imports in this country. The average farm size is 1–14 hectares, and historically, coffees from Nueva Segovia have performed very well in the Cup of Excellence competition.

While Nicaragua has historically been planted with traditional varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Maragogype, areas of relatively low altitude (800–900 masl), the remoteness of the small farms, and battles with coffee-leaf rust in the past decade have remained obstacles in the way of the country achieving clear, prized single-origin status. The largest country in Central America, Nicaragua, continues to develop its reputation as a coffee origin to watch. Coffee is still its most important export, accounting for over $1.2 billion in exports, and about 15 percent of the country’s labor force is somehow involved in the coffee sector.