Today we visited the Café Privilegios. Café Privilegios is made up of 900 different coffee producers. This means that they receive their coffee beans from 900 individual growers. A large portion of these numbers come from families who decided to invest in the coffee industry. An advantage to this cooperative style is that Café Privilegios has many different sources to receive their coffee beans. If a farmer experiences a poor yield, there are hundreds of other farmers who could have experienced a profitable season. In this way, a cooperative has several production offers. On the other hand, it could be more difficult to transport the beans necessary for production. If there happened to be any hindrance in transporting the beans from the farms to the plants; Café Privilegios could experience significant losses in their production.

A cooperative like Café Privilegios impacts the community of which it is a part. The community of Saint Maria de Dota experiences economic growth because of this cooperative. Café Privilegios buys purchases coffee from the local families. This puts more money in the local economy and triggers its growth.  Café Privilegios is important for the community not only because of its ability to boost the local economy; but also, the educational opportunities this cooperative provides. They partner with local high schools to teach children the skills necessary to become a professional barista. This opens many opportunities for the youth to find work. Especially as coffee is very popular in Costa Rica. A professional barista does not have to stay in their local community, but have the opportunity to find work in other regions of the country.