Libertad Especial Corralillo Los Santos

Coopelibertad was founded in 1961, in one of the most important moments for the Costa Rican Cooperative movement, and came to represent a solution for the coffee farmers on Central Valley (Heredia) and with it, they could obtain better results on their farming activities. Since our creation, Coopelibertad has worked side by side with partners in search for the common good and thus constitute on support for the socio-economic improvement through coffee growing.

History
In the early 60s, profit-oriented private companies were the only ones dedicated to coffee in the Heredia province. Without technical assistance, smallholders started loosing financial support and soon the ability to look after their farms. 

 

The National Bank of Costa Rica established the Cooperatives Department to promote solidarity instead of profit. With the bank’s advice, a group of local farmers held the first Constitutive Assembly of the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Heredia in April of 1961. This is how it all started. 

 

In the words of the then vice-president of the boad mr Luis Omar Chavarría: 

"This Company was born as a protest from small coffee growers, who in turn saw in the union of their efforts, the opportunity to be free to manage their small businesses as they please and once and for all not to be never again subject to the whims of the wealthy. I propose that our Cooperative be named COOPE LIBERTAD RL ”

The Coop
Coopelibertad has 490 members (294 men and 196 women) and represents the interests of more than 1200 coffee growers in 25 communities in the Central Valley. We offer all sorts of producer support: credit system, technical assistance, delivery of organic fertilizer and coffee seedlings under favourable conditions.

Our industry processing plant (beneficio) is able to process 3,680 TM  of cherry per year: 1,170.24 TM coffee available for the 2021 harvest.

Each farm has an average of 4,9 hectares of coffee cultivation.

The Coopelibertad Coffee Quality has been awarded for the second year as “the best of Costa Rica Fair Trader Coffees, Taza Dorada” in the specialty coffee category, prize awarded by SCA-CR.

We are one of the last mills that are using Natural Fermentation for Fully Washed Coffees as we truly believe that this has a positive impact on the quality of our coffees making them unique and special.