Posted by Root Capital  |  February 21, 2023

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…

Topics: Environment | Staff Profiles |

Posted by Root Capital  |  April 21, 2022

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,…

Topics: Environment | News and Announcements |

Posted by Rob Hefferon  |  September 30, 2021

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…

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

Posted by Rob Hefferon  |  July 20, 2021

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…

Topics: Environment | Southeast Asia | Stories of Impact |

Posted by Root Capital  |  June 8, 2021

Rosendo Pineda, an employee of the Montaña Verde coffee cooperative, surveys the damage shortly after Hurricane Iota. Last November, the farmers of San Luis Planes were preparing for their annual harvest when Hurricane Eta wracked the Honduran countryside. The community, already reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, had less than two weeks to recover before the even larger…

Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | Environment | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact |

Posted by Sabrina Kerin  |  February 8, 2021

While you sip your morning brew, consider this: By 2050, the area suitable for most coffee production is expected to decline by around 50%. The culprit? Climate change. Your daily dose of coffee depends on specific climate conditions, mostly found in mountainous regions of the tropics. But climate change is shifting conditions in coffee-growing regions, primarily through higher temperatures,…

Topics: Advisory Services | Environment | Stories of Impact |

Posted by Root Capital  |  November 18, 2020

This week, Hurricane Iota became the strongest storm ever to hit Nicaragua. The category four storm ripped across the country with torrential rains and winds topping 155mph, mere weeks after the same communities were devastated by Hurricane Eta. In Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, the 550 members of the Flor de Cafe coffee cooperative…

Topics: Environment | News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  June 26, 2020

En la península de Yucatán, México, ubicada lejos del mar, la ciudad de Cacaptxa está llena de abejas. En esta comunidad maya, la miel es más que un negocio, es un punto de referencia cultural. Muchas familias han criado abejas durante generaciones. Algunos aún recuerdan cuando la miel se usaba en lugar de las visitas al médico para cerrar las…

Topics: Advisory Services | En Español | Environment | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Posted by Root Capital  |  June 23, 2020

On Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, nestled far from the sea, the town of Kankabchen is teeming with honeybees. In this Maya community, honey is more than just a business—it’s a cultural touchstone. Families have raised bees for generations. Some can still remember when honey was used in place of doctors’ visits to close wounds and treat cataracts. Lidia Maribel Moo Poot…

Topics: Advisory Services | Environment | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Posted by Rob Hefferon  |  February 28, 2020

Since the advent of the internet, digital technology has revolutionized the coffee industry. Buyers price their contracts with algorithmic software. Roasters optimize the flavor of their beans by controlling heat to a fraction of a degree. Even baristas use high-tech kits to test the chemical makeup of their brews. But while the world has changed around them, many coffee farmers have been left out.

Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | Environment | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact |