RECOCARNO members spend about 80% of their coffee revenues on their children's educational expenses. The most important expenditure areas from the end of season 'ristourne' (premium), for producers, are investment in education, cultivation of crops in addition to coffee, housing improvements, and purchase of other livestock and land.

The children often have to travel out of the local area to go to school. For example, in Mont-Organisé and Carice, some younger children travel to school in Ouanaminthe. Older children attend school in the Haïtian capital of Port-au-Prince. Some of the studies, such as agricultural science, focus on increasing the skills and knowledge available to the co-operatives, though not all the young people wish to return to the isolated rural areas that they come from and hope instead to work in the towns and cities. But their future is brighter as a result of education that has been paid for as by co-operative efficiencies, hard work and access to Fairtrade guarantees.

Nearly 5000 people, mainly members of the RECOCARNO co-operatives, have benefited from various education programmes and training workshops during the past 5 years. Recently a literacy and numeracy programme has started, offering further benefits to those members unable to read or write.

To see more information about one of the schools of the area click here.