In addition to sourcing fair trade and organic coffee, FIRSTHAND Cooperative works to build alternative economic futures in mountain communities by supporting community wealth building initiatives

To date we have distributed more than $30,000 to projects in Nicaragua and West Virginia. We are a long-term partner of The Working World, a cooperative lending institution that supports workers for a better world. Specifically we help to subsidize their Nicaraguan affiliate La Base, as they provide loans and technical assistance to cooperatives there. Growing out of roots as a student organization, we are also members of the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (COFED), engaging youth in Food Justice activism and cooperativism development on University Campuses across North America. In West Virginia we are proud to work alongside the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition, Refresh Appalachia, Sprouting Farms and Conscious Harvest Cooperative