How Progreso Came About
From 1997, the price of green coffee fell and stayed very low. The coffee growers suffered, as their cash crop often didn't even cover the cost of production. This is often referred to as "the coffee crisis". Solutions are not easy to find.

The growers at La Central in Honduras, with Oxfam had the bright idea of starting a chain of coffee bars to benefit coffee growers. What to call it? La Central had already banded together with co-ops from 7 countries to form a collective called Progreso. We wanted a "real name" for the cafes. The members said we could use the name.

So Progreso Cafes Limited ® was set up. The coffee growers in Progreso win 3 times: they get dividends from the profits of the business; they get the Fairtrade Organic price for their coffee; they get a shop window to market their coffee to other customers.

How The Business Is Structured
Progreso Cafes Limited ® was set up jointly between a group of coffee-growing co-operatives and Oxfam.

In the early days (these are the early days) money will be kept in the business to grow it. This means building more Progreso coffee bars - we want to get to about 20 as soon as we can. As the business grows it will pay dividends to the shareholders.

25% of the shares in Progreso Cafes Ltd ® have been bought on behalf of the co-ops who supply the coffee. Another 25% is held by a Coffee Producers' Trust which will pay for development projects in poor coffee growing communities. The other 50% of the shares are held by Oxfam, which supports coffee growers in many countries and campaigns with them for a better deal.