Update 2023

Coffee farmers, their families and their communities have had a rough time over the last 3 years. The cumulative effects of the Covid - 19 Pandemic;low coffee prices, travel restrictions, sporadic hours at the washing stations and few workers to help with the harvest has left many coffee farming families with little to no income. The arrival of the coronavirus coincided with harvest time for much of Latin and South America, and the impact has been severe. The good news that has come out of this is that our program partners and the people that they serve have been resilient in the face of many challenges.

The Coffeelands Foundation wishes to thank our many roasters and individuals whose donations support the essential work of these organizations. We know that your coffee roasting businesses have been severely impacted by the crisis. We hope that you and your staff and families are staying safe and healthy. Thank you for all your efforts.

We are proud to announce the addition of a new partner to our program:
Limitless Horizons Ixil. Located in Chajul, Guatemala, Limitless Horizons Ixil has opened a new school in the community, building it in the midst of the Pandemic. Check out their story in the Partners page. We look forward to supporting their mission of making girl’s education a priority in Guatemala.

Read about how each of the organizations that we work with are responding to the crisis:

Pueblo A Pueblo

A statement from Ana Cabrera, Directora de Programas: “As the first cases in Guatemala appeared in mid-March, the national government quickly established measures like closing schools, prohibiting public bus transportation, shutting the borders, limiting businesses and shops, and establishing a curfew. To ensure the safety and well-being of Pueblo a Pueblo staff and the people we serve, we postponed all face-to-face meetings and trainings and started working remotely. 

All these measures have helped reduce the spread of the infection, but have had great impact in daily life and economy. This has had a dramatic impact on Santiago Atitlan, leading to widespread food insecurity as most people live day-to-day, are in the informal economy, and rely directly and indirectly on tourism. The impact of this has been increased by the confirmation of the first cases in Santiago in mid-May. Local government has set up even stricter measures limiting locomotion and causing even more business to close. As staff, we analyzed what would be the short- and long-term impacts on the communities we worked with. These impacts range from diminished access to education and health services, increased food insecurity, and loss of income, causing even more impact on education, health and malnutrition. We have maintained our support for access to medical services, and sustained remote technical and knowledge support to our beneficiaries. And to reduce food insecurity we set up donation drives, with the help of some matching grants, to collect funds to distribute food baskets to prioritized families we serve. In the medium and long term we've started adapting our projects to increase income diversity and promote sustainable livelihoods in key groups like women and youth. As we move forward we will continue to adapt to changing needs of the communities we work with so that our actions lead to more positive impact.”

Coffee Trust

As of May 20th, there have been 2,133 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Guatemala. The communities we work with in Chajul have so far remained untouched by Covid-19 and have zero confirmed cases. Heavy travel restrictions, along with the compulsory use of masks (both inside and outside the home in some regions) have helped curb the spread of the virus. 

CopiChajulense and Chajulense de Mujeres (the honey and micro-finance cooperatives we work with) are both striving to continue working during these times with added precautions. Both groups are ensuring the practice of social distancing and the use of masks when social distancing is not possible.

CopiChajulense (MAY 20, 2020)

Honey production for CopiChajulense has not slowed, and actually looks to be better than ever. This year they look to produce nearly three containers of honey for sale to Germany and the United States. While beekeeping trainings slowed at first for CopiChajulense, due to the travel restrictions, the group has found ways to facilitate the safe travel of its key trainers so that they can continue to put in the hard work to improve their beekeeping practices and honey production.  

Chajulense de Mujeres (MAY 20, 2020)

Chajulense de Mujeres has been significantly more affected by the spread of Covid-19. Many of the women in the group are unable to continue their regular business operations, as the items they sell are not considered essential. This has left many women without an income and the means to provide for their families. We are currently working with Chajulense de Mujeres to provide maize (corn) for these families. 

Well Project (MAY 20, 2020)

We have also begun work on a well construction project with the community of Santa Clara, within the Chjaul region. For the past 25 years, Santa Clara has relied upon a single well for its water. This well is located one kilometer away from the village and is currently only accessible by a hiking path (the road is in disrepair). Clean water is always important, but even more so at this time when hygiene and good health are imperative to survival. Through the well project, The Coffee Trust is providing the Santa Clara community with materials and funds to build three new artesian wells over the coming months. 

Food 4 Farmers

Across Latin America, many countries remain on high alert for COVID-19. In Guatemala, borders have been closed, Colombia has declared a state of economic and social emergency, and Nicaragua finally began putting in measures to deal with the pandemic. We continue to work closely with our partners, albeit remotely.

Though the pandemic is primarily a public health emergency, its effects ripple across all aspects of life – especially in food security. A recent report from the World Food Programme (WFP) projects that the number of people suffering from acute hunger around the world could double in 2020. 

The WFP’s report highlighted Guatemala as one of the most affected countries in Central America. COVID-19 has the potential to exacerbate the social inequality, climate change, and poverty factors that have placed nearly 18% of the population in a food crisis. 

It has also exposed flaws in a global food system that is over reliant on centralized, large-scale production and struggling with the consolidation of supply chains — and highlights the relevance of our work with coffee-farming families. Our focus on strategies that promote local food production is helping families weather crises like COVID-19, while improving their resilience and health. 

We’re committed to delivering crucial food security support and services to our coffee cooperative partners and the 8,0000 families they represent in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Colombia. 

Women’s Organic Market Continues Serving Community

Our two projects with SOPPEXCCA, a cooperative in Jinotega, Nicaragua, include a women-led organic market, and school gardens serving 500 students and families.  As prices rise and food becomes scarce, our food security programs are now critical lifelines for children, farming families, and the 130,000 residents of Jinotega. 

SOPPEXCCA

Women participating in the Mercadito are taking steps to ensure safety, health and hygiene. They’re using masks and gloves, and practicing social distancing with customers. While some are anxious about the virus, they continue to sell their produce because the income is so important to them.

The market remains busy; in fact, it has sold out more quickly than usual. We are looking into how to offer pre-orders and send produce by bus. The women are also adding tamales to the products on offer during the Easter holiday season.

Training activities will be delayed, but the gardens remain active and are providing food for families. We’re sending seeds and fertilizer to participants by bus, and our young promoters in communities are distributing them to the women.

Our school garden program with SOPPEXCCA is also beginning to see impacts from the pandemic: 

Families are hopeful that schools will stay open, as many depend on the schools to feed their children, and the school gardens supply high quality lunches and healthy snacks for 500 students. Food prices are now rising, especially for staples like rice, corn and beans.

New Challenges for Beekeepers in Guatemala

A lockdown in Guatemala is causing problems for the beekeeping coffee farmers we work with there. Restrictions on movement make it difficult for them to collect and bring their coffee to market, and new bureaucratic hurdles are complicating the honey harvest.

Our partner ACODIHUE, a cooperative representing 5,500 families in Huehuetenango, has been working hard to support beekeepers there. Because of travel restrictions, beekeeping coordinator Luis Jimenez has been unable to visit apiaries at this key moment in the harvest cycle. Felix Camposeco, the co-op’s coffee buyer, is working with Luis to try and ease restrictions, and ensure that the honey can be harvested in time. 

ACODIHUE

The pandemic is seriously impacting our food security program. Collection of honey was supposed to begin in March, but the Guatemalan government ordered a cessation of activities and restricted all unnecessary movement. Communities panicked and set up roadblocks. 

These restrictions were revised on April 12, and after speaking with authorities, we were given permission to collect coffee, but not honey, which needs to be harvested.  We have asked the authorities to allow us to do so. But until then, everything’s on hold.

Many participants are frightened, with some abandoning their apiaries completely. Luis is encouraging beekeepers to stay put and delay their harvest for a few weeks. But time is of the essence as the rainy season begins in May, which can negatively affect honey quality.  The scenario is bleak, but we are hopeful that we will be able to collect the honey, as well as all the coffee.

Communities on Hold in Colombia

COMEPCAFE is a cooperative of 1,400 indigenous small-scale coffee-farming families in Cauca, Colombia. Dora Lopez, COMEPCAFE’s Food Security Coordinator, tells us: “The situation is very worrisome, we never imagined this! Everything is paralyzed and the government has imposed a process where people can only leave home on certain days based on their identification numbers.” 

Dora reports that public transportation has been suspended and community leaders have set up roadblocks that only allow food trucks and ambulances through. The coffee harvest is just beginning, and though their high-quality specialty coffee won’t be harvested until May, their lower quality commercial coffee harvest for local and national markets begins earlier. They are very concerned about their ability to collect and transport the coffee to their storage facility. The co-op is currently negotiating with local authorities to try and ease restrictions.

Coffee farmers at COMEPCAFE are able to provide for their families and sell the surplus during the crisis.

Our food security programs have also been affected by the lockdown. Every year, the co-op’s Food Security and Food Sovereignty Producer Exchange brings together all members, and features native and seasonal seeds, as well as produce from member farms. After restrictions for COVID-19 were put in place, these families were suddenly cut off from local food markets and the Exchange was canceled. Many families lost access to their regular staples, as supplies dwindled and food prices increased dramatically.

Fortunately, the 150 families in Caldono participating in our food security program had been busy preparing for the Exchange by growing extra food to sell and share. This has allowed them to feed their families, while continuing to barter and sell food. “It’s been a lifesaver!” said community promoter Rosa Marin. The families recently sent us a message of gratitude for the encouragement to grow their own food, and for the training, support and materials they’ve received.

Seeds have recently been distributed – enough for the upcoming growing cycle – and COMEPCAFE is confident that food grown in their home gardens will be enough to get families through the next few months. 

In the community of Morales, the 100 families participating in our food security program have made great advances over the past five years. The community promoters and families have established home gardens, which are thriving, and they now have stable access to healthy, fresh food every day. COMEPCAFE has taken over management of the program, and plans to establish home gardens for 50 more families in 2020. 

COVID-19 has affected the ability of COMEPCAFE families to access seeds for future plantings. Though they’ve had great success reintroducing native varieties of maize and beans, other seeds are harder to save. The cooperative is urging local authorities to allow the distribution of seeds as an essential service.

A Challenging Coffee Harvest Commences in Colombia

The coffee harvest has started in the communities served by our partner Asociación Nuevo Futuro. This collective of 200 small-scale farmers is working with local authorities to get permission to transport coffee and allow coffee pickers to enter and work on farms. Some farmers use paid workers, but the majority depend on a local system they call “lending hands,” or exchanging labor among neighboring farming families to save money. This important resource is now threatened because of widespread fear of COVID-19. Nuevo Futuro is developing guidelines for their members to comply with social distancing, so families can work together safely.

The food supply for the 49 families participating in our food security program is stable, but prices have risen sharply. These families are using their now-critical home gardens to feed themselves and share produce with friends and neighbors. However, the situation in the larger community is worsening here, as people with available cash are hoarding supplies, leaving other families to struggle with food scarcity. Nuevo Futuro plans to add another 50 families to the home garden program in 2020, to bolster resilience and improve food security.

GROUNDS FOR HEALTH

Comments from Ellen Starr, Executive Director of Grounds for Health:

“Ethiopia and Kenya are still experiencing far lower rates than most of the rest of the world. There are a number of different theories as to why and I really look forward to the time we have that answer - being a closet epidemiologist:)  Mapping of what is to come has also been a bit variable but it looks like the most likely scenario is that things have just been delayed and the virus will hit in July/August.

 That said, our two countries have been basically on lockdown while in wait - although Ethiopia has opened back up just a little bit for now. Large gatherings are prohibited, which means that our usual screen and treat campaigns can’t happen. Our staff is still supporting the providers we have trained who are still offering services at their health centers. They are also taking the time to build partner relationships and do some good analysis of their systems. Fortunately, they and their families are all healthy!

The news that is still germinating somewhat is that we are seeking funding for a pivot into the COVID world while cervical cancer gets sidelined a bit. We hope to purchase some innovative new HPV testing devices that have been retrofitted for COVID-19 testing, placing them in a couple of public health facilities then retrieving them back when COVID-19 settles down and introducing them to our programs. During this time, our staff will also partner with the public health authorities to provide community education and recruitment for testing.”