Farmer voice

More than half our growers own shares in Cafédirect. And two of our eight board members are farmers. So we’re not just calling them partners – we’re giving them a direct say in how we run the business. And when we make a profit, they do too.

Meet the directors

Michael Montalván

Michael is General Manager of CAC La Prosperidad de Chirinos cooperative in Peru.

Farmer shareholders

Cafédirect Producers Limited (CPL) owns 4% of the company. It’s a network made up of 37 farmer cooperatives across 11 countries. Most of our coffee comes from them. CPL’s four producer director representatives from Kenya, Tanzania, Peru and the UK means we can help with farmer problems as they happen.

Cafédirect Guardian Share Company

We’ve got back up too – the Guardian Share Company. This group of people hold
the golden share, so they can overpower any decision (shareholder or otherwise)
that could derail our good work.

The purpose of the Guardian Share Company is to:
  • promote fair trade with small farmer organisations in developing countries
  • to promote justice in international trade through Cafedirect, and
  • to hold and exercise rights attached to the Guardian’s Share.
Members of the Guardian Share Company:
  • Monica Middleton as Chair and who also sits on the Cafédirect Board as Consumer Non Exec Director
  • Lebi Hudson represents our farmer partners who have shares in Cafédirect
  • Som Toohey from Oikocredit who represents our largest individual shareholder
  • Alex Maitland from Oxfam International represents our second largest shareholder, and one of the four original founding organisations.

Articles of Association

Our Articles of Association make our farmer-focus official. In it, we promise to look after all stakeholder interests – not just short-term shareholder returns.