The Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative (HOAC) is amongst the oldest Fairtrade Certified organisations in Oceania. Currently consisting of 2,600 members, the cooperative is estimated to directly benefit over 50,000 people in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.
One of the major concerns for the Fairtrade growers and the local communities in the area around HOAC is poor road access. To address this problem a proportion of HOAC's Fairtrade Premium was allocated to the improvement of the local roads and to cover the cost of the petrol to run the grading machines. The improvement in the road network has bettered access to market and hence improved business for small coffee farmers, while also allowing better access to education and health services for locals. The maintenance of the roads is done by local residents that live along and near to the roads, providing them with much needed paid work.
The cooperative has also purchased over 100 individual pulping machines for farmers. These pulpers greatly increase quantity and quality of the farmer's output. HOAC have also recently purchased a disused mill in a neighbouring district and have started milling their coffee ready for export. This is providing greater returns for farmers as they move up the supply chain capturing more of the value for processing their coffee.
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 Tasting Notes |
Sweet toffee and tropical fruits up front. Blackcurrant acid lingers to a toffee and cocoa finish. |
Region |
Porosa, Eastern Highlands Province |
 Altitude |
1300 - 1750 metres above sea level |
 Soils |
Rich Volcanic Soil |