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labor issues and their root causes, such as unscrupulous tation that indicates that there is a significant need and a final assessment of project impacts. However, in gener-
recruitment practices and piece rate payment practices, interest in these tools on the part of smallholder farmers. al, I can say that we have created a set of 17 open-source
which became the focus of the pilot projects in Brazil and Fortunately, the COFFEE Project recently received a cost tools and 10 online training modules that have been ac-
Colombia, respectively. extension from the U.S. Department of Labor, allowing us cessed and used by coffee producers, traders, and roasters
With funding from Keurig Dr Pepper, Verité conduct- to expand the project to include the creation of tools spe- to proactively identify, address, and prevent labor viola-
ed research on living wages and living incomes in the Co- cifically adapted to the needs of smallholder farmers, as tions on coffee farms. We have also successfully piloted
lombia coffee sector, in collaboration with the Global Living well as the dissemination of such tools to smallholder projects to promote ethical recruitment practices in
Wage Coalition and the Anker Research Institute. The farmers in Brazil. Brazil, improve worker incomes and well-being in Colom-
findings were essential to informing the approach of the bia, and build awareness and competencies related to labor
Colombia pilot project. The report, which was recently What can you tell us about the results of issues among coffee companies, agronomists, field tech-
published, sets a living wage benchmark to strive for in the project? nicians, certification bodies, and government officials in
promoting increased earnings for workers, while empha- Mexico. These pilot projects helped us to identify scalable,
sizing that this cannot happen at the expense of smallhold- We have not yet completed the final evaluation, cost-effective approaches that are mutually beneficial to
er farmers, who must also earn at least a living income in which will be published after the completion of the COF- both workers and coffee farmers and can thus be repli-
order to survive. FEE Project at the end of March 2024, so we do not have cated in other countries and sectors.
The COFFEE Project undertook a great deal of stake-
holder engagement to determine the areas of focus of the
pilot projects, as well as the selection, development, and
refinement of the tools and training modules. Verité car-
ried out research and stakeholder consultations interna-
tionally and in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in order to
determine which tools were needed to address labor risks
in the Latin American coffee sector. Through a Participa-
tory Tool Development Process, Verité solicited feedback
from a variety of stakeholders with expertise and interest
in the Latin American coffee sector – with a focus on the
tools’ end-users – thereby improving the potential for
The Cooperation On Fair, Free, Equitable Employment widespread adoption. This included a technical review by
(COFFEE) Project, which is funded through a US$2.5 an Expert Committee, comprised of civil society and in-
million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, is com- dustry association representatives, and validation by an
prised of three elements: Advisory Council, comprised of coffee companies, certi-
1. A set of 17 open-source tools for coffee producers, fiers, and other intended end-users.
traders, and roasters;
2. Ten open-source online training modules, along What challenges did you face during the
with in-person and online training and awareness-rais- implementation of this project?
ing sessions;
3. Pilot projects in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico The COVID-19 pandemic presented a huge challenge
to field test the tools and training modules, as well as for Project implementation. This was especially true for the
innovative, cost-effective approaches to improving pilot projects in Brazil and Colombia, which required on-
labor conditions. the-ground interaction with coffee farmers and workers. In
the case of Mexico, we were able to pivot from in-person
Could you walk us through some of the to online training, which proved to be a scalable approach
key stages of research for the COFFEE to training coffee brands, traders, and large-scale producers
project, such as identifying stakeholders, with internet access, but does not work well for smallhold-
gathering data, etc.? ers with lower levels of internet access and literacy.
Likewise, we had to choose an audience for the tools – as
While field research on labor conditions was not large estates and smallholder farms require very different
conducted as part of the COFFEE Project itself, the Project tools, in terms of both content and design. We ultimately
greatly benefited from field research in Brazil, Colombia, determined that the largest number of workers would be
and Mexico, funded by a combination of Keurig Dr Pepper, reached by targeting larger farms, which have a greater
Jacob Douwe Egberts, Nestlé, and Catholic Relief Services. capacity to improve working conditions. However, we re-
This research helped us to determine the most prominent ceived input from stakeholders during project implemen-

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