There’s no source of income in the remote valley other than growing coffee. “We have no choice,” says José. Our plot of land is too small to make money in any other way. Coffee is our only way of getting out of poverty.” However, for the last two years, the price of coffee has been very low – below the cost of production.

Fortunately, Francisco belongs to a local farmers’ cooperative (Coop Monte de Oro), which sells 35-40 per cent of their crop to the Fairtrade market.

“It’s our organisation. They’re not exploiting us,” says Francisco. “When we supplied to a middleman, he paid us when he wanted and we never knew if the payment reflected the market price.”

The coop’s sales to the Fairtrade market fetch a price guaranteed to cover the cost of production.