“East Timor coffee production is small in the global coffee context, producing less than one percent of the international total. Nevertheless, coffee is crucial to the country’s overall economy. It is the most important source of foreign exchange for East Timor and it serves as the primary source of income for about one-fourth of the country’s population, or some 44,000 families.

Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT) was founded in the wake of the destruction of much of East Timor after it gained independence from Indonesia in 1999. In 2000, a group of farmers, in an attempt to successfully market their coffee internationally, united to form CCT. Today, the organization has grown to include 19,600 members from 16 base cooperatives and 494 small-scale farmer groups. CCT obtained Fair Trade certification from Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) in 2001 and has since greatly benefited from the Fair Trade price.”