Querocoto

Description

A bright and deeply sweet lot; grown in high altitude agroforestry systems in Cajamarca’s Andean spine. Rutas del Inca High in the mountains of Cajamarca, the members of the Rutas del Inca cooperative have been quietly rebuilding. After being founded in 2013 by 33 coffee producing families, they grew slowly and organically, but hit a crisis during the pandemic. There were accusations of serious corruption against the previous leadership, leaving the organisation struggling even before the supply chain chaos that ensued during 2020. Exports dwindled, and members began to leave due to late payments. Several longstanding members came together with a plan to save the cooperative, securing funding from a Dutch NGO to assist with organic certification, EUDR compliance and an agroforestry project. For the 2025 harvest, the membership of the cooperative passed 300 families, many of which have been supported through certification, and with seedlings of new varietals. This has served to increase quality across the project, and transfer more value back to the member families.