2023-2024 Funded Grants

Peru

Construction of Casa Café Femenino 2023-01
Community of San Jose Huanama
Funded by: Darkwoods Coffee

The Casa Café Femenino project is in San Jose Huanama, ASPROAGRO and is located in the Lambayeque region. It will directly benefit 15 Café Femenino women in the community, where training meeting and assemblies will be held, constituting a space where women can meet permanently to discuss problems and make plans for the future. The building will also provide temporary shelter to abused women and children.

The funds will cover not only building material costs, such as the cement, plaster, door and windows, but also tables and chairs and one bed and bedding. Labor to be provided by members of the community.

Worm Composting Program 2023-02
Community of Tallapampa
Funded by: Grounds For Change

Worm castings are one of the best organic fertilizers being used for nurseries, but now only available to a small number of coffee producers. This project will change this and provide a large amount of compost and a more diverse nutrients for a larger number of plants. The goal is to achieve the desired increase in production.

Currently, producers have been incorporating organic matter into their soil in various ways such as coffee pulp, crop residue, kitchen waste, but these take time to decompose and to be assimilated by the plant is a long-term process.

The Californian redworm feeds on vegetables, animal and kitchen waste and then begins to defecate. The feces, a dark, earth-like matter with a fresh smell. In a period of 6 to 8 weeks, fertilizer can be produced, it is an organic fertilizer that provides nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, etc., to plants. This production of worm casting is a dark liquid that has been applied to vegetable, producing a larger quantity will allow it to be used in other crops.

As a result, plants are more resistant to pests and disease and to sudden changes in the environment. The composition of the soil will improve, as moisture is retained and soil aeration is increased.

Rain Water Harvest Tank Construction 2023-03
Community of Cococho
Funded by: Aroma Coffee Roasters

In all our coffee communities, climate change has been greatly affecting the production of coffee, fruit trees, beans and vegetables. The occurrence of increasingly extreme weather phenomena such as heavy rains, floods, mudslides, droughts, heat waves, aggravate water shortages.

Previously, farmers had adapted their crops to 6 months of rain and 6 months of drought. Currently there are 03 months of rain and 09 months of drought and situations like the current one, a lot of rain in short periods and very strong shortages in long periods.

With this project we seek to store rainwater in tanks that allow us to safely store enough water and use it in sprinkler irrigation at times of greater scarcity and greater crop requirement. Funds will cover the cost of 12 tanks to store water for irrigation of coffee crops and vegetable gardens, as well as the Workshop on Tank Installation and Maintenance. Labor to be provided by the beneficiaries.

Implement an Irrigation System - Canal Espina 2023-04
Community of Pampa Hermosa
Funded by: Fortnum and Mason

This community is one of extreme poverty and needs assistance to improve the productivity of the crops and pastures. Water is scarce and water management is difficult. Climate change has seriously affected the cultivation of both coffee and food, rainfall has been reduced to only four months per year. They have been able to distribute the water through a system of channels to the producers by flooding, which can cause erosion of the soils and under-utilization of the water resources. This grant will build small reservoirs that benefit 4 or 5 families and allow them to store their water quotas and install a sprinkler irrigation system. This would make it possible to have enough water at the time of the flowering of the coffee and to achieve an increase in production and quality, as well as ensure water for production of vegetables and quinoa and kiwicha.

Funds will be used for materials (irrigation pipes. hoses and sprinklers) to improve the irrigation system to coffee producers, as well as provide for the qualified workforce, transportation of materials and some technical advice.

UPDATE 2-28-25:
The irrigation materials delivered to the community were laid and have proven to be very beneficial, they were able to water the coffee crop on time and will have a better harvest as demonstrated in the photos of the green coffee cherries.
Through the system of canals that the community has, water was distributed in quotas to the producer, who take the risk in a flood-prone manner, which brings collateral effects such as soil erosion and underutilization of a very important resource as scarce as water. This project successfully implemented a sprinkler irrigation system for the beneficiaries of the community of La Pampa Hemosa- Canal Espino allowing for sufficient water during the coffee flowering period, increased the production and quality of coffee, and guarantee the permanent production of food, helping to reduce malnutrition in children and improve the quality of life of the population.This successful project has created interest by other coffee producers now interested in efficient management of water and the installation of the irrigation systems by sprinkling and drip. This is still small scale, but it is a beginning. Producers are now talking about joining together to build mini-reservoirs that will allow them to store water and maintain the crops of 4 or 5 families. The ponds will also capture the water runoff produced by the heavy rains that have now begun to arrive. At a later date we will be able to report back on the actual increase in the coffee production and the improved quality.

Young Adult Product Development & Management Training 2023-05
Community of Penachi
Funded by: Alpen Sierra Coffee & Sally Sears

Young Adult Product and Management Training, will be a meeting place for training and exchange of experiences aimed at rural young adults between 15-40 years old who wish to progress and be leaders in the development of their community. This is a 3-year program, with attendance at classes 4 days a month. It will seek to encourage young people to achieve an approval grade and present progress in the implementation of organic farming techniques on their plot. The incentive will be in money, materials and access to funds to share specified in the internal regulations that will be approved with the participation of students at the beginning of the year. In this second year of operation of the school, it will seek to involve the students of 4th and 5th of the secondary level of Penachi (Lambayeque) The academic training will be developed through thematic modules that will be deepened in each year of training. The modules will have cross-cutting themes covering gender equity, rights and duties, empowerment (leadership).

Training Modules:
I. Leadership for Entrepreneurship
II. Associativity and Articulation
III. Agroecology and Agroecological Systems of Sustainable Coffee
IV Certification of organic production and Fair-Trade Certification
V Agribusiness and Market
VI Financial Education
VII Access to Digital Information

In the organic farming module, they will schedule an experience sharing trip. In the agribusiness and market module, training is provided to give added value to the products and attendance at a local or regional fair.

15 young adults, ages 15-50 years of age, from the communities of Araumajada, Caracha, Tallapampa, Murojaga, La Ramada, Kerguer, Penachi, Hualanga, Llaque, Pampa Verde, Miraflores, Machucara, Espinal/Sta Rosa, Hierba Buena, Corral de Piedra, El Naranjo, Villarumi, San José, as well as 100 conference participants will benefit from this program.

Young Adult Product Development & Management Training 2023-06
Communities of Nueva York, Lonya Grande; San Antonio, El Ron
Funded by: Coffee Holding & OPTCO

Young Adult Product and Management Training, will be a meeting place for training and exchange of experiences aimed at rural young adults between 15-40 years old who wish to progress and be leaders in the development of their community. This is a 3-year program, with attendance at classes 4 days a month. It will seek to encourage young people to achieve an approval grade and present progress in the implementation of organic farming techniques on their plot. The incentive will be in money, materials, and access to funds to share specified in the internal regulations that will be approved with the participation of students at the beginning of the year. In this second year of operation of the school, it will seek to involve the students of 4th and 5th of the secondary level of Nueva York, Lonya Grande; San Antonio, El Ron (Amazonas). The academic training will be developed through thematic modules that will be deepened in each year of training. The modules will have cross-cutting themes covering gender equity, rights and duties, empowerment (leadership).

Training Modules:
I. Leadership for Entrepreneurship
II. Associativity and Articulation
III. Agroecology and Agroecological Systems of Sustainable Coffee
IV Certification of organic production and Fair-Trade Certification
V Agribusiness and Market
VI Financial Education
VII Access to Digital Information

In the organic farming module, they will schedule an experience sharing trip. In the agribusiness and market module, training is provided to give added value to the products and attendance at a local or regional fair.

15 young adults, ages 15-50 years of age, from the communities of San Antonio, Huamboya, Nueva York, Roblepampa, El Aliso, San Antonio del Ron, Virgen de Fátima, El Porvenir, Guadalupe y Cococho. as well as 100 conference participants will benefit from this program.

Young Adult Product Development & Management Training 2023-07
Community of Pampa de Seques
Funded by: Kerry

Young Adult Product and Management Training, will be a meeting place for training and exchange of experiences aimed at rural young adults between 15-40 years old who wish to progress and be leaders in the development of their community. This is a 3-year program, with attendance at classes 4 days a month. It will seek to encourage young people to achieve an approval grade and present progress in the implementation of organic farming techniques on their plot. The incentive will be in money, materials, and access to funds to share specified in the internal regulations that will be approved with the participation of students at the beginning of the year. In this second year of operation of the school, it will seek to involve the students of 4th and 5th of the secondary level of Pampa de Seques (Cajamarca) schools. The academic training will be developed through thematic modules that will be deepened in each year of training. The modules will have cross-cutting themes covering gender equity, rights and duties, empowerment (leadership).

Training Modules:
I. Leadership for Entrepreneurship
II. Associativity and Articulation
III. Agroecology and Agroecological Systems of Sustainable Coffee
IV Certification of organic production and Fair-Trade Certification
V Agribusiness and Market
VI Financial Education
VII Access to Digital Information

In the organic farming module, they will schedule an experience sharing trip. In the agribusiness and market module, training is provided to give added value to the products and attendance at a local or regional fair.

15 young adults, ages 15-50 years of age, from the communities of Pampa de Seques, Montaña de Seques, Agua Azul, Limoncito, Granadillo, Sta Rosa de Minas, Lijadero, Paltomayo. as well as 100 conference participants will benefit from this program.

Chifle (banana chips) Production & Marketing 2023-10
Community of Guadelupe - Luya
Funded by: 23 Degrees & Kaladi Coffee

The project Production and commercialization of chifles in the community of Guadalupe seeks to contribute to improving the income of producers through the production of chifles. There is an important raw material in the community, banana production is the second most important product on the farm, but much of this production is wasted on the farm since it is not a product that can be negotiated in the local market because everyone produces it. Providing added value with the production of chifles, it is marketed, at first, in the community of Guadalupe, to later expand its scope to Cococho, Campo Redondo Ocalli and larger markets such as Lonya Grande.

This grant will provide funds for the Witfinch machine, motor, double steel blade, fryers; Workshops on Chifle Production and Packaging and Marketing Chifle. There will also be a Basic Financial Education Training Workshop. Overtime, this program will provide families the opportunity to earn an additional income other than their coffee, give added value to a raw material that is underused, such as bananas. 10 women coffee producers will benefit from this project.

Kitchen Improvement 2023-11
Communities: Vista Hermost
Funded by: Kerry Europe Raffle

Most the of family kitchens in these rural communities are without windows or lighting. The walls and ceilings are low not allowing light to come in, making it difficult to see what they are cooking in their pots, “it’s like cooking in the dark”. There is a lot of soot on the walls and ceilings that is not only contaminating their food, causing respiratory illnesses in the women and children who are more often in the kitchens. This project will implement 15 kitchen improvements (new raised cooking surfaces and ventilating the smoke to the outside). The overall goal is to provide a safe and more smoke/soot free environment and reduce the incidences of respiratory disease in these communities.

UPDATE:

Improve Wet Mill Beneficio Infrastructure 2023-14
Communities of Huamboya, Nueva York and Roblepampa
Funded by: Coffee Holding & OPTCO

In years past the coffee producers in this area have been hit by adverse weather and coffee rust, but they are making extraordinary efforts to renovate their coffee farms in order to maintain the income to support their families need to substantially improve the quality of their coffee and balance their income by achieving a better market price. In order to do so they need to improve their wet mill beneficio infrastructure. They have a good-quality coffee plants due to the quality of the soils and the microclimates that exist in the region. Unfortunately, the quality decreases every step of the way during the harvesting process due to not having the wet mill infrastructure needed to process the coffee crop properly.

This project seeks to support coffee producers with the implementation of the wet mill beneficio infrastructure consisting of lined fermentation tanks-cement lined, solar tents, trays that help maintain coffee quality and sustain them in the niche market of certified specialty coffees. Results will be measure by recording the quality of the coffee delivered by the producers; the quality of the coffee in the cup; prices obtained for the coffee; participation in coffee quality competitions and the income received from the sale of their coffee.

Improve Wet Mill Benefio Infrastructure 2023-15
Communities of Sector Vista Hermosa – Luya
Funded by: Caffe Ibis

In years past the coffee producers in this area have been hit by coffee rust, but they are making extraordinary efforts to renovate their coffee farms in order to maintain the income to support their families need to substantially improve the quality of their coffee and balance their income by achieving a better market price. In order to do so they need to improve their wet mill beneficio infrastructure. They have a good-quality coffee plants due to the quality of the soils and the microclimates that exist in the region. Unfortunately, the quality decreases every step of the way during the harvesting process due to not having the wet mill infrastructure needed to process the coffee crop properly.

This project seeks to support coffee producers with the implementation of the wet mill beneficio infrastructure consisting of two ceramic lined fermentation tanks, six cement drying patios and four solar dryers. Results will be measure by recording the quality of the coffee delivered by the producers; the quality of the coffee in the cup; prices obtained for the coffee; participation in coffee quality competitions and the income received from the sale of their coffee.

UPDATE 4-2-25 Progress Report
Majority of the project is complete - six families in the community now have a vat tank for coffee fermentation. A total of six tanks have been built so far. The 12 beneficiaries decided to use vat tanks because it makes their work easier and guarantees the safety of the product. Due to the cost increases they are requesting additional $1,200 to complete the project. See Grant 2023-15b

UPDATE:
Vista Hermosa – Wet Mill Project: photos of the progress of the construction of the wet mill tanks in Vista Hermosa. By the end of February we will have installed the ceramic tile liner and it will be finished.

Kitchen Improvement 2023-19
Communities: San Antonio del Ron, La Palma, El Aliso
Funded by: Kerry

Most the of family kitchens in these rural communities are without windows or lighting. The walls and ceilings are low not allowing light to come in, making it difficult to see what they are cooking in their pots, “it’s like cooking in the dark”. There is a lot of soot on the walls and ceilings that is not only contaminating their food, causing respiratory illnesses in the women and children who are more often in the kitchens. This project will implement 15 kitchen improvements (new raised cooking surfaces and ventilating the smoke to the outside).

The overall goal is to provide a safe and more smoke/soot free environment and reduce the incidences of respiratory disease in these 25 kitchens in these communities.

Women’s Empowerment & Leadership in Agriculture Workshops Phase II 2023-28
Regions Amazonas, Cajamarca, Lambayeque
Funded by: Granting HOPE Together Sponsors

This project aims to further empower the women coffee producers in Peru as they know more about their rights, develop their skills and talents, as well as learn production and management abilities that allow more women to actively participate in decision-making. Workshops will be held in sever community centers that allow us to bring together the leaders of the regions of Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Amazonas.

Workshops will be held in seven locations will cover content such as self-esteem, gender focus, leadership, cooperation and solidarity, teamwork, conflict management, sustainable local development objectives, communication and assertiveness, technical-productive management.

Women’s Empowerment & Leadership in Agriculture Workshops Phase III 2023-28b
Region: Amazonas, Cajamarca, Lambayeque
Funded by: Bewley's

With this project we seek to reach a larger audience of women and men within the community, improving productivity and diversifying production and women's income, quantifying the time they spend on reproductive activities, making them aware of their rights, enhancing their skills and talents that translate into their empowerment, allowing more women to actively participate in decision-making bodies.

Workshops will be held in seven spaces that allow us to concentrate the leaders of the regions of Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Amazonas and develop thematic content such as agroecology, climate change, diversification, biodiversity, self-esteem, leadership, cooperative work, management of pests and diseases in crops, financial education, and an exchange of experiences will also take place.

Construction of a Mini Irrigation Water Reservoir 2023-31
Community of Villarumi
Funded by: Kerry

This community is one of extreme poverty and needs assistance to improve the productivity of the crops and pastures. Water is scarce and water management is difficult. Climate change has seriously affected the cultivation of both coffee and food, rainfall has been reduced to only four months per year. They have been able to distribute the water through a system of channels to the producers by flooding, which can cause erosion of the soils and under-utilization of the water resources.

This grant will build small reservoirs that benefit 10 families and allow them to store their water quotas and install a sprinkler irrigation system. This would make it possible to have enough water at the time of the flowering of the coffee and to achieve an increase in production and quality, as well as ensure water for production of vegetables and quinoa and kiwicha.

Funds will be used for materials (cement, pipes, plastic liners, sprinklers and hose) to construct the reservoirs, as well as qualified workforce, transportation of materials and some technical advice.

Early Education Centers 2023-32a
Communities: Machucara, Cruz de Mayo, La Cria Huanama, San Jos Huanama, Villarumi, Pampa Hermosa, Murujaga, Tallapampa, Huacapampa
Funded by: Silver Bridge Coffee

Early Education Center Project in Northern Peru reaches 230 children in the regions of Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas in Fifteen (15) Communities:
General Information: The children in rural Peru are severely malnourished, this grant provides funds needed to educate the teachers, parents and students on food nutritional value and how to incorporate the foods into their daily diet with the goal of reducing malnutrition in the rural coffee producing communities in Peru. The Cafe Femenino Foundation has supported the implementation of this project since 2013. Each year the impact is measured by a visiting nurse taking and recording, the height and weight of the students ages 3-5 three times per year. In total, 230 students, 140 parents and 15 teachers in 15 rural early education centers will participate in this program. The curriculum for the early education center students also includes personal hygiene and dental care.

Funds will cover the cost of the traveling nurse, as well as educational, grooming and hygiene, supplies for Covid prevention materials as well as basic food supplies and first aid kits needed for each early education centers. The centers will receive needed supplies such as facemasks, hand sanitizers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, wash clothes, crayons, books, paper, glue, mats for the floor where the children sit and play, as well as jackets and polo shirts depending on the climate. Desired Results of this Program: To contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the pre-school children in the 15 communities while providing the children and parents with information that increases their knowledge of proper nutrition, dietary resources available in their community and set them on a path of improved future health. Pandemic Impact on Early Education Centers: After two years of virtual classes and a year, like the present, where the children still no not return to classes in their entirety because the infrastructure of the schools is deteriorated by abandonment of two year and by the effects of rain have taken a toll on some school structures. These two years of the pandemic, no yet overcome, has meant a delay in training of the children because parents are not prepared for virtual classes nor are they able to teach their children. The children ages 3-5 require trained, skilled teachers. With this pandemic, although the rural communities have been the least affected by incidents of Covid-19, it has been the most affected in access to basic services and technology that allows children to continue their capacity building. During the past two year the rural population has taken refuge on their farms with their focus on tending to their coffee and other crops and not providing the necessary daily well-balanced meals for their children leaving the children to eat food available that are high in carbohydrates.

Early Education Centers 2023-32b
Communities: Aqua Azul, Pampa de Sequez
Funded by: Silver Bridge Coffee

Early Education Center Project in Northern Peru reaches 230 children in the regions of Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas in Fifteen (15) Communities:
General Information: The children in rural Peru are severely malnourished, this grant provides funds needed to educate the teachers, parents and students on food nutritional value and how to incorporate the foods into their daily diet with the goal of reducing malnutrition in the rural coffee producing communities in Peru. The Cafe Femenino Foundation has supported the implementation of this project since 2013. Each year the impact is measured by a visiting nurse taking and recording, the height and weight of the students ages 3-5 three times per year. In total, 230 students, 140 parents and 15 teachers in 15 rural early education centers will participate in this program. The curriculum for the early education center students also includes personal hygiene and dental care.

Funds will cover the cost of the traveling nurse, as well as educational, grooming and hygiene, supplies for Covid prevention materials as well as basic food supplies and first aid kits needed for each early education centers. The centers will receive needed supplies such as facemasks, hand sanitizers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, wash clothes, crayons, books, paper, glue, mats for the floor where the children sit and play, as well as jackets and polo shirts depending on the climate. Desired Results of this Program: To contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the pre-school children in the 15 communities while providing the children and parents with information that increases their knowledge of proper nutrition, dietary resources available in their community and set them on a path of improved future health. Pandemic Impact on Early Education Centers: After two years of virtual classes and a year, like the present, where the children still no not return to classes in their entirety because the infrastructure of the schools is deteriorated by abandonment of two year and by the effects of rain have taken a toll on some school structures. These two years of the pandemic, no yet overcome, has meant a delay in training of the children because parents are not prepared for virtual classes nor are they able to teach their children. The children ages 3-5 require trained, skilled teachers. With this pandemic, although the rural communities have been the least affected by incidents of Covid-19, it has been the most affected in access to basic services and technology that allows children to continue their capacity building. During the past two year the rural population has taken refuge on their farms with their focus on tending to their coffee and other crops and not providing the necessary daily well-balanced meals for their children leaving the children to eat food available that are high in carbohydrates.

Early Education Centers 2023-32c
Communities: Nueva York, El Ron, Roblepampa, San Antonio
Funded by: Shuswap, Alpen Sierra and Kerry Food Service

Early Education Center Project in Northern Peru reaches 250 children in the regions of Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas in Fifteen (15) Communities: General Information: The children in rural Peru are severely malnourished, this grant provides funds needed to educate the teachers, parents and students on food nutritional value and how to incorporate the foods into their daily diet with the goal of reducing malnutrition in the rural coffee producing communities in Peru.

The Cafe Femenino Foundation has supported the implementation of this project since 2013. Each year the impact is measured by a visiting nurse taking and recording, the height and weight of the students ages 3-5 three times per year. In total, 230 students, 140 parents and 15 teachers in 15 rural early education centers will participate in this program.

The curriculum for the early education center students also includes personal hygiene and dental care. Funds will cover the cost of the traveling nurse, as well as educational, grooming and hygiene, supplies for Covid prevention materials as well as basic food supplies and first aid kits needed for each early education centers. The centers will receive needed supplies such as facemasks, hand sanitizers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, wash clothes, crayons, books, paper, glue, mats for the floor where the children sit and play, as well as jackets and polo shirts depending on the climate. Desired Results of this Program: To contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the pre-school children in the 15 communities while providing the children and parents with information that increases their knowledge of proper nutrition, dietary resources available in their community and set them on a path of improved future health. Pandemic Impact on Early Education Centers:

After two years of virtual classes and a year, like the present, where the children still no not return to classes in their entirety because the infrastructure of the schools is deteriorated by abandonment of two year and by the effects of rain have taken a toll on some school structures. These two years of the pandemic, no yet overcome, has meant a delay in training of the children because parents are not prepared for virtual classes nor are they able to teach their children. The children ages 3-5 require trained, skilled teachers. With this pandemic, although the rural communities have been the least affected by incidents of Covid-19, it has been the most affected in access to basic services and technology that allows children to continue their capacity building.

Organic Fertilizer & Pest Control Supply Store 2023-33
Communities: Aqua Azul, Pampa de Sequez
Funded by: Sally Sears & Shuswap Coffee

With this project of creating an organic fertilizer and pest control supply store in the community of Cococho we will be addressing important and urgent needs to improve crop productivity and control plant pests and diseases and improve the income of small producers. The isolation in which the Andean-Amazonian peoples find themselves, the terrible access roads, the individual displacements to easily buy these organic supplies and make it easier to purchase the non-organic supplies made available in the nearby community of Lonya Grande so it is necessary to facilitate the access to the organic fertilizers and pest control supplies allowed to maintain their organic certification.

The funds requested will be used to purchase supplies for the control of pests and diseases of coffee, corn and vegetables, organic fertilizers and irrigation pipes. An administrative committee will be appointed to manage the fund. The producer will request the supplies he requires and after evaluation by the Management Committee, they will be given the supplies with the agreement to repay the costs at the time of the sale of his coffee. 60 people could directly benefit from having the Organic Supply Store close by.

Kitchen Improvement 2022-05
Community: Pampa Hermosa
Funded by: Aroma Specialty Coffee Roasters (Canada)

Most the of family kitchens in these rural communities are without windows or lighting. The walls and ceilings are low not allowing light to come in, making it difficult to see what they are cooking in their pots, “it’s like cooking in the dark”. There is a lot of soot on the walls and ceilings that is not only contaminating their food, causing respiratory illnesses in the women and children who are more often in the kitchens. This project will implement 15 kitchen improvements (new raised cooking surfaces and ventilating the smoke to the outside). The overall goal is to provide a safe and more smoke/soot free environment and reduce the incidences of respiratory disease in these communities.