When our colleagues Joleen Baker and Ryan Tepe from Co-op Partners Warehouse were invited to join a group of cooperatives traveling to Rio y Valle in Peru, they jumped at the chance. The trip of was hosted by Equal Exchange, and it provided the opportunity to see where Fair Trade and Organic bananas are grown, and meet the people and families that grew them.

familial nature of banana farming

“I was struck right away by the language used when talking about how bananas grow,” Joleen recalled. “Everything was centered around mothers and fathers and children and birth. The whole process is nurturing and respectful to the bananas and farmers and land.” Each plant is a life-giver, and each banana is an “offspring” to be cared for and handled gently so it can reach its full potential. The culture of the people in Peru uplift women and their roles in the family and community, so it’s only natural that the plants are described using maternal terms.

farming equality at rio y valle

Empowering women in families and farms is a remarkable sight in Peru. The world of produce and agriculture is so often dominated by men, but here women are uplifted and men learn along side them. While the plans are nurtured, so is the soil. The air and the water also play critical roles in ensuring the best bananas are grown and packed and shipped to our CPW warehouse and co-op shelves.

a true reverence for the fruit

Ryan said their hosts were incredibly patient in answering all the questions from the group. This is such a unique way to farm and live, and it’s not what is typically seen in America. “Being in the banana grove was quiet and serene,” Ryan said. “We were there in the dry season, so there were less people, and less noise in general.” He also saw the correlation of family words to the banana growing. “The farmers put ‘blankets’ between each banana in the bunch as it grows, so they form their own shape and don’t hurt or bruise each other.’” Just like babies in blankets needing gentle care. “I have a new reverence for bananas and I swear they taste better to me now!”

full circle moments

The Peruvian farmers were so interested in meeting the group and care very deeply for each banana that ends up on the co-op shelf. Connecting the farmers to the consumer with these stories brings a little bit of the experience back around full circle. The next time you shop for bananas, and you probably do every week, think about the farmers in Rio y Valle. Every twelve weeks, year-round, they are planting and growing, caring, and harvesting so we can all have sweet, ripe bananas in our homes. A little bit of Peru is in your kitchen every day. “It’s just bananas to us, but for them, it’s life.”

Read part one of this blog series, here.