Since 2018, we have worked to make quality education accessible to the children of the coffee-producers and pickers in our supply chain, in remote areas of the two countries. In 2022, we funded an educational project at the La Florida plantation in Nicaragua, along with the Ernesto Illy Foundation, and at the El Aceituno plantation in Guatemala, offering educational, healthcare and food-safety services.
We fund a free, mobile healthcare service that offers dental and eye-health care to coffee producers and their families in the Santa Rosa area. This support and care often represents their only opportunity to receive medical treatment.
Since 2013, we have improved the living environment of coffee-growers. By the end of 2019, 70 hectares of land had been reforested and 76 wastewater treatment systems installed; 23 structures for managing coffee pulp had been constructed, training 99 farming families; and 60 Támara school students had been educated in good environmental practices.
In 2019, we financed the acquisition of a coffee plantation and the planting of around 2,500 certified-quality coffee plants, to function as a Farmer Field School for the Abahuzamugambi cooperative made up of 38 women in the Hindiro area. In 2023 we sent them a donation of pigs, a source of organic compost and therefore a way to stimulate the processes of the circular economy.
We promote environmental education in Brazil through the “Viveiro de Atitude” programme, which involves the cultivation of over 100 plant species native to the Cerrado region. The nursery distributes the plants to local producers and to the Monte Carmelo municipality. The income from sales is donated to educational centres that accept children aged up to 14 years outside of school hours, as well as to local organisations supporting the elderly.
It is estimated that 50% of land suitable for growing Arabica coffee could be lost by 2050. For this reason, we have collaborated on a revolutionary research project to sequence the genome of Arabica coffee, making the results available for everyone. This allows coffee growers to adapt their plants to the changing climatic conditions, like rising temperatures, prolonged drought and heavy flooding.
In 2019, thanks to our support, 13 coffee producers in Nicaragua and Honduras were able to implement a new wastewater treatment system in order to reduce their water consumption by 35%, preserving resources and reducing our impact on the planet.
The “Escuela y Café” project has the aim of reducing school dropouts and tackling child labour. From 2016 to 2020, the project provided students with 1,500 seeds per year so they could enjoy a productive plantation at the end of their 6 years of school. This provided the economic resources necessary to attend university or start their own business.
Our aim is to support communities to promote the creation of excellent practices and sustainable production across the globe. For this reason, we are committed to building long-lasting relationships with growers, based on knowledge-sharing and sustainable growth.
We believe sustainability should be pursued at every stage of the production process. Thanks to our sustainable coffee procurement protocol, we are able to monitor supply chains, guarantee the quality of the product, and protect both the environment and worker safety.
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