This is a unique story. 140 women owned, Las Hermanas, coffee farms in upper Nicaragua, joined together to form a micro cooperative to produce the best coffees of the region. Their eagerness to know our coffee preferences and needs for consistent, clean, even, green coffees to roast has been why each year we have continued to purchase their entire harvest of Organic & Fair Trade coffee. ______ Cafe Moto Exclusive____Las Hermanas Fair Traded coffees have given back to the community with 700+ new school uniforms and numerous health and civil projects. The Organic Fair Trade Las Hermanas coffee with it's smooth, thick, chocolaty cup, and hints of apricot has become a Cafe Moto favorite and the foundation for several of the blends. This coffee delivers in the cup and in the heart.

I had lunch with Fatima Ismael, Gerente General, of the Las Hermanas, Soppexcca Cooperative October 2009 in her home town of Jinotega, Nicaragua. Afternoon espressos at their Flor de Jinotega cafe, revealed the big news, the Beneficio Seco, dry mill, is about to become operational for this years harvest. This is a huge factor in the overall quality and control for finishing the coffee to export at the specialty level.. They have dsigned the final steps with a double conveyor line where 30-40 people will physically pick out and defects and less than wonderful beans which may slip through the mechanical sorting. Not only will this create employment, but the product will improve.____Fatima updated me on the community progress including sustainable production, quality control, credit, human benefits of hunger and poverty, economic diversification, environmental protection, social medicines, equality of gender, reproductive health and human rights, democratic participation, market education in the schools and a strong family core. I notices several of pallets of "school books and supplies " ready for distribution in the new beneficio warehouse. She arranged a special luncheon at which the youth band played on their instruments funded by the cooperative as part of the cultural diversity element. "We will fight these things." Needless to say she is a powerful and dedicated woman of coffee. Thank you for helping Cafe Moto bring these fabulous coffees from Jinotega, Nicaragua and improving the quality of life. Las Hermanas (sisters) coffee is produced by a small and innovative cooperative headquartered in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Hermanas represents the beans of the 200 women members of the co-op. Women in Nicaragua can own the title to their own land. This is different from other Central American countries. It is a result of the progressive reforms of the Sandinista revolution and has been maintained under subsequent governments. The co-op is led by a charismatic leader, Fatima Ismael, who has been helping the farmers for four years and is inspired by an organization where 30% of the membership is women coffee farmers. Her vision is “to create a worldwide network of women who buy and market this coffee, sending a message to these rural farmers that they have options, that they can create what they want for themselves and their families.”