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South America

In the Andes, the landscape is dotted with smallholder farmers making their livelihoods by growing coffee or cocoa.

These farmers are members of cooperatives, associations, or social enterprises that allow them to fetch premium prices on the international market. Our Colombia-based staff work in conjunction with our Peru-based partner organization, ACCDER, to equip these enterprises with the credit and capacity building they need to go even further for South American farming families.

In this region we currently work in Colombia and Peru.

Stories of Impact

Keeping Farmers Safe and Business Running: One Coop’s Pandemic Response

When Donald Delgado took the helm of UNICAFEC last November, the coffee cooperative was at a crossroads. Since its founding in 2001, the cooperative had been led by one man, Alfredo Alarcón, and his sudden death left a hole in the community’s heart—not to mention real fears for the businesses’ future. Donald himself worked under Alfredo’s leadership for more than…

Harvesting Under Quarantine: One Co-op’s Creative Approach

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of resilient, farmer-focused agricultural enterprises have never been clearer. For example, in Colombia, Root Capital client Federación Campesina del Cauca (FCC) is helping its farmers adapt to social distancing and other restrictions during the all-important coffee harvest season. Sustainable Harvest, one of FCC’s largest buyers and a Root…

Latest Findings About Root Capital’s Impact on Rural Livelihoods

Note: This blog is the final post in a four-part series exploring how Root Capital measures and manages the impact of our lending. Read parts one, two, and three. Impact measurement and management is at the heart of Root Capital’s work, helping us optimize our efforts to transform rural communities. By measuring our impact, we…

This “Hidden Influencer” is Expanding Opportunity for Women Farmers in Colombia

It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. The crickets have stopped chirping and hours will pass before the rooster crows. Elizabeth Garzón Piamba is preparing the fire for breakfast while her family sleeps. After she feeds her children and gets them ready for school, she heads out to work as the sun just peeks over the horizon. Elizabeth is a coffee farmer. And she has 4,000 trees to take care of.

Reflecting on a 20-Year Partnership with Root Capital

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the lush, coffee-growing region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Northern Colombia. The Sierra Nevada is a unique coastal mountain range—with altitudes reaching well above 18,000 feet within sight of the Caribbean. Its rugged and steep geography makes travel to the region quite difficult. Driving to a farm only 14 miles from town took me almost four hours.

Cómo la tecnología digital sistematiza la información para las empresas rurales

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.