Supporting 60 coffee producers
The economy of the Valle del Cauca department is based largely on the agrifood industry, and the production and refining of sugar cane provide many jobs. But there is also high pressure on soil and water resources, and the most fertile lands have been divided unequally among a small group of owners since colonisation. The 1970s saw the rise of land-grabbing and armed conflict, leading to a strong presence of armed groups in the region, which has all but destroyed the social fabric of small farming communities.
Project overview
This project first aims to build the capacities of producers for the implementation of initiatives to promote economic development in their respective local areas. This includes training them to be able to participate in public-private discussion forums, and training them in agroecology and the social economy.
The project also focuses on promoting, establishing and supporting GAACs (self-managed savings and credit groups), which provide access to capital for production. This component of the project includes experience-sharing between existing GAACs and an NGO in Medellín that offers credit.
Lastly, the project focuses on developing new socially responsible companies and supporting and promoting a type of coffee called Tienda Garittea that is being produced by two organisations comprising 60 producers, IMCA and Xavierian University in Cali, where the organic coffee produced by those two organisations will be sold directly to consumers.
Objectives
- help build a lasting peace in four towns in the Valle del Cauca department;
- strengthen the leadership and skills of producers to develop socio-economic initiatives that will benefit vulnerable communities, particularly young people and women;
- help vulnerable communities gain access to savings and credit schemes promoted by IMCA;
- boost the income of producers by carrying out social and solidarity-based entrepreneurial projects in promising sectors.
Key figures and results
- 240 people will improve their skills for the development of socio-economic initiatives;
- 50% of people who have obtained a training certificate will participate in discussion forums and/or the development of entrepreneurial initiatives in promising sectors;
- At least 75% of the social-economy initiatives supported will be profitable;
- 260 people (50% of whom are women) will join 24 GAACs and thus gain access to credit;
- 50 producers will benefit from experience-sharing between GAACs;
- 60 coffee producers will strengthen their access to a new market: Tienda Garittea on the campus of Xavierian University in Cali;
- 100 producers will receive support for the development of social-entrepreneurship projects in promising sectors;
- Pre-identification of 21 projects to start a company.
