Mexico and Central America Archives

This All-Women Cooperative is Feeding Hundreds During the Pandemic

Posted by Rob Hefferon | October 22, 2020

Since 2007, the all-women AMPROCAL coffee cooperative in Ocotepeque, Honduras has worked hard to connect farmers with higher prices for their coffee on the international market. Starting with just eight members, they’ve grown to over 150 today. That means they’re able to improve livelihoods and grow inclusion for more farmers across the region. For the last four years, Root Capital…

Un futuro más sostenible para las abejas—y los apicultores—en el sur de México

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…

A More Sustainable Future for Bees—and their Keepers—in Southern Mexico

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…

Better Coffee, Better Livelihoods: Lessons from Our Second Joint Workshop with Intelligentsia

Posted by Lula Perez | January 28, 2020

"What coffee variety do you think has the lowest quality?” Intelligentsia Coffee’s Director of Sourcing and Shared Value Michael Sheridan asked this question to a room of farmers and business leaders in Honduras last month. “Lempira!” came the unanimous reply. Michael asked a follow-up question: “What is the variety you have planted most on your farms?” Again, the room called out in unison, “Lempira!”

Cómo la tecnología digital sistematiza la información para las empresas rurales

Posted by Kate Hyder | December 10, 2019

La versión original de este blog apareció en inglés en el sitio web del Pace Able Foundation. La cooperativa cafetalera CECAFE se encuentra en Lonya Grande, el cual es un pueblo ubicado en la región montañosa de la región Amazonas, Perú, a un par de horas en carro de la ciudad principal más cercana. Los socios de la cooperativa viven aún más afuera, por caminos serpenteantes próximos al Parque Nacional Cutervo.

In Tough Conditions, This Nicaraguan Cooperative Blossoms

Posted by Rob Hefferon | September 26, 2019

Wiston Vílchez had barely turned 24 when he took over as general manager of the fledgling Flor de Dalia coffee cooperative in 2014. At the time, the cooperative consisted of a handful of families who sold their coffee to local brokers at rock-bottom prices. The brokers then sold the coffee on the international market with a huge mark-up—pocketing all the profit for themselves.

Como Se Ve Nuestro Trabajo en Nicaragua Ahora Mismo

Posted by Will McAneny | February 28, 2019

Durante años, muchos nicaragüenses se han enojado con las políticas cada vez más represivas del presidente Daniel Ortega. El pasado abril, la aprobación de una ley de impuestos impopular llevó al país al límite.

What Our Work in Nicaragua Looks Like Right Now

Posted by Will McAneny | February 13, 2019

For years, many Nicaraguans have bristled under the increasingly repressive policies of President Daniel Ortega. Last April, the passage of an unpopular tax law tipped the country over the edge.

How These Mayan Farmers Are Modernizing a Two-Thousand-Year-Old Tradition

Posted by Lula Perez | October 8, 2018

For the Maya, bees and their honey have always been sacred. Bees are a symbol of fertility and abundance; kaab, the Mayan word for bee, can also be translated as “force,” “land,” or “world.” But for the Mayan producer-members of the EDUCE cooperative, honey isn’t just a part of their cultural heritage. It’s also their livelihood.

Five Things I Learned from Our Youth Workshops in Nicaragua

Posted by Will McAneny | May 16, 2018

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling to the coffeelands of northern Nicaragua to see Root Capital’s advisory team in action.