Sugarcane has traditionally been farmed in the steep hills of Bolivar and Cotopaxi provinces in Ecuador. A handful of big businesses dominate the sugar market, so most families use their sugar cane to produce a potent form of alcoholic drink known as aguardiente. It’s a low-value product. The families need to work all week to make a small tankful that sells for as little as $60 up to $90 in the fluctuating local market. In this area of extreme poverty, there are few other options.

Since 2000, CRACYP has provided training and appropriate technology to make the process more efficient, supported organic farming and better environmental practices, and helped 36 communities organise themselves into a cooperative, CADO (formed in 2003). CRACYP helped with technology for purification and now the cooperative can purify the crude, 65o aguardiente up to 70o for medicinal use as an antiseptic or even 96.3o for use as potable alcohol for making liqueurs.

CADO pays its members a fair price for their organic alcohol and a ‘social premium’ which goes into community projects. They also receive a share of the profits. Some of the younger members are receiving training in marketing and quality control and we hope to provide salaried employment in the future. More communities are in the process of joining CADO, so over 250 families now have the chance to fight poverty without losing their traditional way of life or destroying the environment.