Working together to end poverty and injustice

Improving livelihoods

Farmers in East Timor pick coffee cherries.

The Movimento Cooperativo Economico-Agricola (MCE-A) in East Timor aims to build the economic independence of the people of East Timor by increasing farmers’ productivity and returns from agriculture.

The guiding belief of the programme is that farmers in East Timor have the capacity and land to produce what they need and compete with imported food.

The MCE-A is exploring alternative markets for farmers such as the Fairtrade market. One such initiative is supporting 50 coffee farmers in Maubaralisa, approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Dili, to access information on market prices and further process their coffee beans and improve the quality. These measures will allow them to increase their returns from 45 cents to $2.25 per kilogram.

The group is also dedicated to developing basic educational opportunities for its members. These include education on issues such as human rights, participation in a democracy and women’s independence.

Real lives

• Rice farmers - Calisto and Francisca
  Calisto and Francisca Martins are farmers from Haburas-Sare, a small rural village in Liquica District, East Timor. They live on a small farm where they grow rice, maize and soya beans. They have seven children and two grandchildren to feed, yet in 2007 their income was less than NZ$900. This year, with Oxfam’s support, they hope to increase it.
• Coffee farmers - Laurindo and Domingas
  Domingas de Silva and her husband Laurindo are coffee farmers in a small community in Maubaralisa, Liquica District. With the support of Oxfam and MCE-A, they are learning new techniques for maintaining their coffee crop. A new processing machine means they will increase the income they receive from the crop, allowing them to repair their home and improve the water supply.
• Women in development: Angelina de Jesus
  Angelina de Jesus is the founder and chairperson of Bolalilin Women’s Cooperative in East Timor. Set up in July 2010, the cooperative aims to help women earn more money from their small plots of land and supplement their family’s income.

Fighting landgrabs

• MCE-A is mobilising small-scale farmers to stand up for themselves and their rights, helping them to mediate disputes and take action against government land grabs. Find out how.

Our partner in East Timor

• Read our profile of MCE-A, Oxfam's key partner on the ground in East Timor

Oxfam Unwrapped in East Timor

By buying a gift from Oxfam Unwrapped you can help support our livelihoods work in East Timor. Take a look at Oxfam Unwrapped's gifts with a difference and help lift people out of poverty, for good.