Honduras COMSA SHG EP Organic

Café Orgánico Marcala Sociedad Anónima (COMSA) was founded in Marcala, a rural community in central Honduras. Since their humble beginnings in 2001 with 69 members, they have grown into a thought leader for Central American cooperatives and organic coffee production. In addition to serving their now 1,200+ members, COMSA’s multiple projects teach organic farming practices, produce affordable organic inputs and positively impact their communities through social projects.

Cultivation

COMSA is focused on sustainable, organic agriculture. Their training structure both disseminates knowledge and puts a focus on experimentation and innovation, building a cooperative membership that strongly believes in and practices sustainable agriculture.

Many member farmers create experimental plots for trialing new techniques and tailoring organic inputs to their specific needs. COMSA also supports members in building processing infrastructure to make value addition through quality processing more accessible to their members.

In 2019, COMSA started a recycling plant that collects recyclable materials from 44 educational centers in Marcala. Any non-recyclable materials are incinerated to prevent pollution.

COMSA also supports beekeeping as a source of income diversification and natural medicine for coop members.

When COMSA purchased Finca La Fortaleza, the land was abandoned. Under their care, La Fortaleza became a model farm for COMSA members as well as a grassroots training facility for cooperatives across Honduras and beyond. The farm includes space for farmer trainings and classes, and their on-site cabins host everyone from eco-tourists to NGO workers to field technicians from other cooperatives.

In addition to the farm’s training center, COMSA produces organic fertilizers, pesticides and foliant sprays on-site at Finca La Fortaleza. They also cultivate all kinds of vegetables and herbs in the farm’s garden, mainly for use in natural medicines.

COMSA’s leaders recognized that in order to change their future, they need to invest in today's youngest generations. In 2017, COMSA purchased a failing private school next door to their wet mill in Marcala and founded their international school.

Most students are the children of cooperative members or coffee farm laborers, and an impressive 80 to 90% of students are on scholarships. A school bus transports children to and from school daily. Students range in age from 6 months to 17 years.

Another remarkable aspect of the school is its progressive teaching principles. Teaching practices draw from a variety of educational philosophies including Montessori principles and the Doman method (a groundbreaking method for teaching students with learning disabilities). Classes are dual language and all students learn Spanish and English.

Honduras is a small yet mighty coffee producer. The country boasts the largest per capita coffee production in the world. Beginning in 2017, Honduras began placing in third place for Arabica production volume globally. For this slot, they compete with Ethiopia—a country 10 times larger than Honduras.  The two countries trade between third and fourth place annually, but the achievement is impressive, nonetheless.

Honduras has everything it needs to become a premier specialty coffee producer. The country has the right growing conditions, abundant fertile soils and soaring altitudes (nearly all farms are at more than 1,000 meters above sea level), plus a variety of microclimates.

Beginning in the early 2000s the industry began to focus on quality. Improved infrastructure (better mechanical dryers, centralized wet mills, an increasing number of solar dryers), quality control/assurance trainings (separating lots by qualities, cupping schools, etc.), the rise of specialty-focused exporters, increased volumes of certified coffees and the strengthening cooperative movement all have worked in tandem to make Honduran coffee ‘one to watch’.

It is only in more recent years that coffee production in Honduras has reached specialty levels comparable to other Central American countries, but specialty roasters are responding with enthusiasm. In 2017, a lot in the Cup of Excellence garnered the highest price ever paid for a Cup of Excellence coffee in any country: $124.50 per pound (approximately $56.50 per kg).

Above all, while Honduras increasingly offers high end microlots, what the country arguably represents overall is exceptional value. Quality has improved massively over the last 15 years, and in addition to unique specialty lots, the country offers very solid, clean blenders at very attractive prices.