Objectives
The objective of the not-for-profit organisation Comequi is to give farmers of the African ‘Great Lakes' region (the DR Congo) the means to lead concrete and effective action towards sustainable development, in order to increase their total revenues and to be able to meet the needs of their families (such as the education of children and medical treatment).

Activities
To attain its objectives, Comequi promotes agriculture which meets the standards of Fair Trade and/or organic production. It also encourages the creation of agricultural co-operatives to bring together industry and regional stakeholders, and works towards the provision of education in rural areas.

Partnership with the Sopacdi Co-operative: Sopacdi (Rural Solidarity in the Promotion of Coffee Action and Integral Development) is a Congolese co-operative which today brings together 1,800 small coffee producers and collects 40 tonnes of green (unroasted) coffee beans per year. The partnership between Comequi and Sopacdi has facilitated: the provision of sundries for producers, the improvement of coffee-cleaning facilities, the distribution of more than 500,000 coffee plants to farmers, the accreditation by the International Fair Trade Labelling Organisation, the promotion of the co-operative's products to the large Belgian and European importers. From beginning 2012, Sopacdi is a self-supporting project owing to the credit line granted from the belgian co-operative Alterfin.

Co-operative AMKA (Kivu): Project launched in October 2011 aimed to be self-supported in 2014. Comequi ensures the training of coffee planters supervised by a Congolese agronomist, the organisation of the co-operative, the conditions to obtain the Fair Trade accreditation, the promotion of the products. to the Belgian and European importers.

The Nyamgoma plant nursery: Comequi decided in 2009 to launch a plant nursery. The nursery gives small producers free access to young plants of the best varieties of coffee:
- 400,000 coffee plants have been distributed to 425 small planters from Kivu
- 200 hours of direct training have been given to members of the Sopacdi Co-operative
- Four people are directly salaried by the project at Goma to keep things going on-the-ground.

This operation allows the producers to take their destiny into their own hands, to improve their productivity and to increase their revenues, in order to meet the needs of their families. Six new small plant nurseries are launched  in the region.

Launching of vegetable plots for teaching: being piloted by Comequi in 2 primary schools in Kivu, in order to raise awareness of such matters amongst the children and their families.

All the overheads costs are supported by the members of Comequi.

Concrete Needs 2012
Financial support:
 - For the improvement of coffee-cleaning facilities in the new coffee producers co-operative AMKA (budget: 50.000€).

Volunteers in Belgium:
- Translation in dutch
- Printer: volunteer to do free printing works of programs and/or invitations for fundraising activities.

Volunteers abroad:
- Agronomist specialised in coffee producing.

• 2010