Engineer Próspero Trejo learnt about the 4C Code of Conduct for the first time during a seminar organized by Christian Initiative Romero (CIR) in Munster, Germany, in September 2007.

Mr. Trejo is a coffee farmer and Managing Director of the Cooperative Ciudad Barrios in El Salvador. When he returned to his country, Mr. Trejo decided to introduce his fellow members to the sustainability approach of the 4C system.

In September 2009, his cooperative began the process of forming a 4C Unit and starting the implementation of the 4C Code of Conduct. With a 4C Unit made up of 256 business partners, Ciudad Barrios received a license to sell 4C Compliant Coffee in February 2010.

After successfully passing 4C Verification, 132 famers in the 4C Unit were prepared to undertake the additional efforts of complying with the SAN Standards of the Rainforest Alliance.

“Compliance with the 4C Code gives us more credibility, greater acceptance of our product and the ability to make more business in the future since the buyers have the assurance that we comply with baseline sustainability criteria,” explains Mr. Trejo.

From September to December 2010, the Ciudad Barrios farmers received technical support from SalvaNATURA to step up from the 4C baseline standard to the SAN Standard.

SalvaNATURA carried out several diagnoses at farm level before the stepping-up process kicked off. The analyses demonstrated that major progress had already been made in sustainability practices as a result of implementing the 4C Code.

Significant improvements could be seen in terms of, for example, better quality of drinking water, safer working conditions and workers’ health as well as more gender equality in the payment of wages. 

After four months of hard work, the efforts of the farmers paid off when they passed the Rainforest Alliance certification audit. Thanks to the certificate they obtained, they are now able to sell their coffee as Rainforest Alliance certified, opening new marketing opportunities for their product.