Stories of Impact Archives

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

Posted by Root Capital | April 5, 2023

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…

How Women Coffee Farmers Are Fighting Climate Change in Uganda

Posted by Root Capital | March 21, 2023

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…

Latest Findings: How Two Ghanaian Enterprises are Impacting Farmer Livelihoods

Posted by Isabel DoCampo | February 23, 2022

Note: Click here to learn more about how we conduct impact studies in rural communities. In Ghana’s Eastern Region, the world’s first organic- and Fair Trade-certified oil palm enterprise, Serendipalm, sources oil palm fruit from over 500 smallholder farmers. Eight hundred kilometers north, in the Upper East Region, a sorghum aggregator called Faranaya purchases grain from close to…

Our 5 Favorite Stories from 2021

Posted by Root Capital | January 7, 2022

In 2021, rural communities persevered through a relentless pandemic, tore down barriers to gender equity, and innovated novel solutions to the climate crisis. In the face of dire circumstances, the resolve of agricultural enterprises-and the steadfast support of our partners-continued to move the needle for inclusion, equity, and sustainability in rural communities. In case you missed it, we wanted to…

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

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…

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

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…

Innovating for Climate Resilience in Honduras

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…

Root Capital’s Impact in 2020

Posted by Root Capital | March 30, 2021

Last year, our global community stood up for farming families when they needed us most. During the pandemic, we partnered with agricultural enterprises to unlock prosperity for more than three million people in some of the most economically and environmentally vulnerable regions in the world. Thank you for ensuring that protecting lives and preserving livelihoods could go hand in hand.

How Rural Businesses Are Confronting the Climate Crisis

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,…

How We Utilize Outcomes-Based Financing to Help Early-Stage Enterprises Grow

Posted by Katie Naeve | February 4, 2021

While you may not be able to find Matagalpa, Nicaragua on a map, you can taste it in your morning cup of coffee. This region is one of the world’s biggest coffee producers, thanks to the thousands of smallholder farming families who call it home. Individually, these farmers could never get their harvest from their field to your breakfast table.