A Journey Into the Heart of Kenya’s Macadamia-Processing Region

Superfine Africa Nuts employees sort macadamia nuts by hand alongside Root Capital’s Leonor Gutiérrez, Director of the Women in Agriculture Initiative, and CEO and Founder, Willy Foote. Photo credit: Root Capital In September, I, along with my Root Capital colleagues Leonor Gutiérrez, Martin Buyeka, Willy Foote, and Rose Ochieng, had a chance to visit our Kenyan client Superfine Africa Nuts.

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Topics: Environment | Stories of Impact |

Carbon, Climate, and Coffee: Paying Farmers for Their Efforts to Combat Climate Change

CENFROCAFE producer member Anselmo Díaz on his coffee farm. Rumi Bamba, Las Pirias, Jaen, Cajamarca, Peru. October 8, 2022. Credit: James Rodriguez. Root Capital is pleased to share a new report showing the potential of environmental payments to reward farmers for their use of carbon-friendly, agroforestry practices. This report is the result of three years of collaboration…

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Topics: Environment | Partnerships |

Comon Yaj Noptic: A Small Coffee Cooperative Focused on Sustainability

The Comon Yaj Noptic cooperative is nestled within the buffer zone of El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, one of the world's most diverse forest reserves, in Chiapas, Mexico. The reserve has a dense cloud forest, which consists of constant low-level clouds that produce a mix of fog, mist, and rain...

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Topics: Environment | Stories of Impact |

Announcing Our New Climate Resilience Roadmap Annual Report

Deep in the Meru region of Kenya, Shalem Investments has witnessed firsthand the effects of shifting weather patterns and climate change on its community. Much of Kenya is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, with devastating consequences for farmers of “thirsty” crops like maize. As a grain aggregator and climate action leader, Shalem is building a local market…

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Topics: Environment |

Organic Agroforestry as a Climate Solution: Cool Farm Tool Pilot Project Findings and Lessons Learned

This article originally appeared on the blog of Cooperative Coffees, a Root Capital partner. PHOTOS: James Rodriguez. At Root Capital, we’ve always believed in the power of small-scale, organic agroforestry to contribute to climate stabilization and increased resilience. In our conversations and visits with partners over the years, we’ve seen that producers’ work to plant and conserve…

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Topics: Environment | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | South America | Stories of Impact |

How Women Coffee Farmers Are Fighting Climate Change in Uganda

Most people in Western Uganda are farmers, dependent on the land and predictable weather patterns for their livelihoods. But climate change has led to unpredictable weather and increased natural disasters. Intense floods have caused mudslides that devastate farmland, while extreme droughts have dried out coffee berries, affecting crop yields, coffee quality, and, ultimately, the income of farming families.  “At…

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Topics: East Africa | Environment | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Five Questions for Elizabeth Teague, Director of Root Capital’s Climate Resilience Initiative

Smallholder farmers across the world are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with rising temperatures, droughts and floods, and severe storms threatening their livelihoods. Through our Climate Resilience Initiative, Root Capital connects agricultural enterprises with urgently needed resources, including localized data on climate risks, best practices for mitigation and adaptation and capital for climate-smart investments. We recently sat down…

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Topics: Environment | Staff Profiles |

Bridging the Gap: Funding Climate Solutions in Rural Communities

Eighty-five percent. That’s how much of our world’s need for climate finance is unmet according to the Climate Policy Initiative. As we bear witness to the ever-increasing threats of climate change on the world stage, we continue to fall far short of what’s needed.  Only 1.7% of global climate finance is directed to smallholder agriculture. Meanwhile, rural communities,…

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Topics: Environment | News and Announcements |

Regenerative Agriculture Is Helping This Coffee Co-op Fight Climate Change

High in Rwanda’s southern mountains, farmers grow some of the highest-quality coffee on Earth. The volcanic soil gives beans a rich flavor that commands a premium price on the international market. But this specialty coffee is at risk-as are the livelihoods of the 400,000 smallholder farmers in the country who depend on it.  According to Jean Baptiste Munezero, the agronomic…

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Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | East Africa | Environment | Stories of Impact |

How Indonesia’s Coffee Farmers Are Protecting Its Most Critical Forest

In this remote corner of Sumatra, Indonesia, thirty-foot long pythons slither across the jungle floors as leopards prowl the canopy above. The Leuser Ecosystem covers an awe-inspiring landscape from the peaks of towering mountains to the depths of peat-rich bog lands.  This ecosystem is the last place on earth where orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and tigers coexist, and it’s a safe…

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Topics: Environment | Southeast Asia | Stories of Impact |