Category: Projects

The Agricultural Cooperative Rutas del Inca was founded on 26 October 2013, when 33 coffee farmers from different areas of Querocoto, Cajamarca, Peru, joined forces to establish an organization that would represent smallholder producers and improve market access for their coffee.

The cooperative’s name reflects the region’s Inca heritage. According to local accounts, chasquis—messengers of the Inca Empire—once travelled through the area along the network of roads connecting the four regions of the Tahuantinsuyo Empire. “Rutas del Inca,” meaning “Routes of the Inca,” pays tribute to this history of connection and exchange.

In January 2014, the cooperative obtained legal status and achieved organic certification, enabling its first green coffee export to the United States through Sustainable Harvest, a specialty coffee buyer. In 2015, it began the Fairtrade certification process to strengthen its position in international markets while promoting smallholder rights, decent working conditions and gender equality.

Since 2017, Rutas del Inca has continued to develop its commercial and financial capacities. Its main buyers include Sustainable Harvest, Top of the Crop and Royal Coffee. Financing from national and international institutions has also helped the cooperative pursue its development goals.

International partners, including Rio Tinto, SOCODEVI, Rabobank and Progreso Foundation, have supported initiatives focused on technical assistance and financial strengthening, contributing to the cooperative’s organizational development.

By 2026, Rutas del Inca had grown to 357 active members across the districts of Llama, Huambos, Querocoto and Querocotillo, in the provinces of Chota and Cutervo, Cajamarca. Its approach to sustainable development focuses on four pillars: economic, social, environmental and institutional development.

The cooperative is guided by principles of democracy, social justice, equity, transparency and freedom. Through decentralized engagement strategies led by its leadership and professional team, it promotes these values among members and their families, strengthening their sense of belonging and commitment to the organization.

From its beginnings as a group of 33 farmers, Rutas del Inca has grown into a cooperative working to improve market access, strengthen financial resilience and support sustainable development for coffee-growing families across Cajamarca.