Fair trade, organic avocados from Equal Exchange are back! If you’re thinking it seems like the season just ended, you’re right: PRAGOR, the co-op of small-scale avocado growers in Michoacán, Mexico, has expanded to include growers with avocado trees at higher altitudes, resulting in an extended growing season. And, when the Mexican avocados ended, Equal Exchange sourced some from La Grama, a group working with small farmers in Peru. We had fair trade avocados well into the summer of 2018! After a brief break, they are back.
The farmers of PRAGOR have faced many obstacles, from avoiding drug cartels to surviving the dishonest practices of the companies who used to buy their avocados. Since 2010, the farmers have been working to control their own sales, with Equal Exchange as the importer. Buying avocados directly from the farmers for a fair price has a huge impact. In one season, over a million avocados were purchased by Equal Exchange, resulting in $794,660 paid to the farmers, plus an additional $30,816 premium paid into a fund for projects like a music program and elderly center. (Read more.)
Last season (September to June), Weaver Street Market purchased 157,785 of these avocados from Equal Exchange! Buying directly enables us to sell the avocados for a reasonable price without ripping off the farmers. We’re glad they’re back–eat as many as you can this winter, and feel good about the farmers you’re supporting.