We Work

Each week, we visit each community to collect the harvested crop that has complied with our required standards of quality, and this selected raw material -be it fruits, tubers or grains- is taken to our processing plant.

We have a complete portfolio of products that are processed using different manufacturing procedures. For each of these, the raw materials are paid for punctually, with Fair Trade prices, in accordance with annual contracts. We provide additional free technical assistance, monthly training programs, financial support, and also cover the costs of organic certification, logistical and other miscellaneous expenses.

Villa Andina has a department specialized in the design and formulation of development projects financed by international cooperation agencies and Peruvian Government extension programs (for example: Fondo Empleo, Agro Ideas and Pro Compite). Through these, we are able to channel non-refundable grants towards the farming communities we work with. These development projects aim at increasing crop productivity and improve living conditions of small rural farmers.

The above makes it possible for us to obtain the level of quality that we seek in our products and to carry out a more competitive operation, while respecting the parameters and conditions of Fair Trade. As we develop our activities in the same area and alongside the farmers we work with, we shorten the supply chain and make a more direct connection between the field and the final consumer.

The Institute for Research on Poverty Alleviation of the University of Michigan demonstrated in a study carried out by them on Villa Andina, how our work has made a positive impact on improving the quality of life for farmers and their families. A notable example of this impact can be seen indirectly in children under the age of 8 years, who have now developed an awareness of the need to recycle, concern for the environment and for their own personal hygiene. The increased income is invested back into the local community, which in turn has decreased migration to other regions of Peru and produced an increase in numbers of young people who attend universities in Cajamarca. To download the complete study conducted by the University of Michigan click here.