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Coope
Pilangosta has its headquarters in the beautiful town
of Hojancha, in the Province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The
Cooperative groups together more than 220 coffee growers
from the communities of Hojancha, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya,
and they are well known for consistently producing a
superior quality coffee bean. |
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| To
guarantee the highest possible quality, Coope Pilangosta
achieved ISO 9002 certification in 2001. Like all of the
Coocafe cooperatives, Coope Pilangosta is also committed
to conserving the environment and investing in its communities.
This commitment is obvious in every single Coope Pilangosta
project, and to formalize this commitment, Coopepilangosta
is in the process of achieving ISO 14001 environmental
sustainability certification as well. |
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| Our
co-op (return to
top) |
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| Coopepilangosta
R.L has its headquarters in Hojancha, the Province of
Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is in Hojancha that the administrative
offices, the Matambú Industrialization plant, the
hardware store and the service station of Coope Pilangosta
can be found. |
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associates and our coffee lands however, extend beyond
Hojancha. The coffee plantations are located in the best
lands the area has to offer, between 500 and 1,000 metres
above sea level, in the communities of Hojancha, Santa
Cruz and Nicoya. |
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| While
our Cooperative is comprised of 225 associates, our processing
plant receives coffee from more than 400 local producers
who work on more than 590 hectares of land. |
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| Our
history (return
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| 25
associates founded Coope Pilangosta in 1962. Since then,
it has come along way. Coffee has been grown in the Hojancha
area since around 1930 when many small families from the
Central Valley of Costa Rica moved into the region, bringing
their coffee seeds and culture with them. At first these
families produced coffee only for their own personal consumption
but as the years went by, coffee took on more economic
importance. Local producers decided they needed to organize
in order to produce, market and sell their coffee to their
advantage. |
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so, on March 27, 1962, Coopepilangosta was born. With
financial assistance from the National Bank of Costa Rica,
the new co-operative was able to purchase a mill, the
Beneficio El Progreso, in the town of Pilangosta, to receive
and process coffee. |
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| Coffee
production in the area continued to expand and by 1978
the highest regions of the Nicoya Peninsula were officially
designated as coffee producing zones. This official recognition
opened up credit possibilities and opportunities for technical
assistance for the producers. It also facilitated a notable
increase in the amount of land dedicated to producing
coffee, the introduction of new coffee varieties, and
the use of more sophisticated technology. |
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| Twenty
years after it began, Coopepilangosta built a new milling plant,
the Matambú Industrialization Plant, with the capacity
to process upwards of 10,000 fanegas. It now receives coffee
from more than 400 local coffee producers. |
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| Our
services
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1.
Matambú
Indsutrialization Plant.
Coope
Pilangosta’s beneficio has the ability to process
10,000 fanegas of coffee. It has modern machinery that
has been improved over the years in order to minimize
the impact of coffee processing on the environment. |
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2.
Hardware
Store and supplies warehouse.
This
department provides assistance and supplies to the associates,
producers and the community in general. It offers agricultural
advice, construction materials and a local hardware
store in Hojancha. |
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3.Service
station.
Coope
Pilangosta operates the only service station and place
to get fuel in the Hojancha area, which is a very important
service for the community. |
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4.Credit.
Credit
services are fundamental so that the associates can
continue to improve their coffee fields and develop
alternative activities. Coope Pilangosta’s credit
services can be used to help finance the purchase of
new crops or more environmentally friendly growing techniques
for example. |
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5.
Technical
Assistance.
Coope
Pilangosta always has an agronomist and two agricultural
technicians available to advise the associates.
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6.Educational
Support.
Coope
Pilangosta considers education to be one of the fundamental
pillars for human development. In 1993 the Cooperative
began a program of scholarships for students at the
secondary and university levels. This program was extended
to all Coocafe cooperatives in 1997 with the constitution
of the Foundation Hijos del Campo.
Through Hijos del Campo, rural students- young and old,
have access to scholarships and bursaries to help prepare
them to be tomorrow’s leaders. The Foundation
Hijos del Campo also provides monetary support for rural
elementary schools in need of infrastructure improvements
and teaching materials. |
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7.Organic
soil.
Organic
soil is made from the waste materials that accumulate
through the milling process. It is packaged and sold
in 2, 5, and 46 kg bags. |
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8.Supporting
our Communities.
Coope
Pilangosta consistently offers support to all of the
communities in its area of influence for activities
such as the repair and maintenance of local roads, credits
to communal organizations, patronage of sport activities,
and basically all activities designed to strengthen
sustainable community development. |
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| Contact
Us : (return
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Manager:
Phone
Fax:
Email: |
Luis
Alberto Salazar Picado
(506) 659-9130
(506) 659-9041
copepil@racsa.co.cr |
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