The ethical coffee of the Malatesta Collective

Malatesta coffee is a young company founded in Lecco by a group of young people who have managed to set up an alternative coffee import and roasting chain to that of large retailers and based on ethical principles and respect for the environment. ‘environment. The coffee is grown with organic methods by peasants who work with traditional methods and in decent working conditions, the import is carried out by seeking direct contact with the producers, from Colombia to the Zapatista communities of Chiapas. The Malatesta collective manages to create income and work without speculating with people and the ecosystem, let’s get to know this beautiful reality better.

Contents [Ocultar]

  • Project history

  • Fundamentals of Malatesta Coffee

  • Cultivation of green coffee

  • Gate

  • Where to find Malatesta coffee

Project history

The idea of ​​Malatesta coffee took shape in 2011 in Lecco, within the solidarity business group “La comunita da Sporta”. Gas de Lecco, with the increase in the number of members, has decided to rent a warehouse to store its purchases, in this space there are randomly unused artisan coffee roasters. The sight of these machines gives rise to the idea of ​​establishing an economic reality that can be a source of income and therefore provide jobs but also provide equity values. It is desirable to pay attention not only to coffee cultivation, as is already the case in fair trade projects, but to the entire supply chain, which also includes import, roasting and the distribution. Thus, the project covers the entire alternative coffee production chain, from agricultural work to roasting. This is how the Malatesta collective was born, which rents the coffee processing machines and begins to experiment, starting with the supply of the group of purchase of bags based in Lecco, to then expand to other GAS. To find the green coffee to use in the roasting plant, the collective begins by tapping into similar realities like Caffè Libertad in Hamburg and the Shadilly cooperative in the Marche region. With them, they import coffee from solidarity projects in Chiapas, Honduras, Guatemala and Uganda.

In 2014, the experience of direct importation of green coffee by Malatesta, which selects Colombian coffee, will also begin. The direct relationship with those who cultivate allows for a better understanding of the social realities involved and leads to support. The Colombian coffee roasted by Malatesta comes from Cauca, a poor region with economic problems caused by internal conflicts.

Direct knowledge is also a principle aimed at the realities that support Malatesta in Italy with the purchase, offering the possibility of visiting the roasting workshop and meeting in person with the purchasing groups and the different realities that support the project. The consumer is not simply a buyer, but supports a supply chain whose actions and objectives he knows and shares.

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