Central America
International Coffee Partners in Central America
Central America is the land bridge connecting North and South America. It is home to seven coffee-producing countries. Often referred to as part of the Bean Belt, Central America is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and unique for its rich agriculture, mountain ranges, volcanoes, forests, and micro-climates. Given its exclusive geographic features, it is no surprise that Central America makes up some of the best coffee regions in the world. The Trifinio Region, for example, is located in the tri-border area of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It is a key coffee-growing region in Central America and a biodiversity hotspot.
We have been implementing projects in several coffee-producing regions in Central America, including the Trifinio Region, since 2001. Click the following button to access all of them:
Current Project
Productive Restoration and Prosperous Livelihoods for Farming Families in Western Honduras
Location: Copan, Ocotepeque, Lempira (Western Honduras)
Timeline: January 2024 – December 2026
Target # of participants: 1,500 smallholder farming families (25 % new participants) and 600 youth
Main project objectives: Improve the livelihoods of smallholder families, increase the competitiveness of farmer organizations, and promote resilient and regenerative agriculture in Western Honduras.
Project Highlights
Farming Families:
- Apply farm diversification strategies and increase the number of livestock species.
- Facilitate the production of food crops for household consumption.
- Facilitate access to climate-resilient food seed varieties.
- Provide training on climate-smart practices, based on the coffee&climate approach, focusing on regenerative agriculture and agroforestry practices.
- Sensitize on the importance of generational change and intergenerational collaboration.
Youth:
- Support youth to develop profitable, environmentally sustainable, and diversified livelihood options and opportunities.
- Introduce the Climate Pioneer approach in new farmer organizations and provide follow-up to graduated Climate Pioneers.
- Provide access to finance through established revolving funds.
Achievements Since the First Project Started
Total households reached since 2001
Impacted farmland in current phase
Adoption rate for Good Agricultural Practices in 2022
Climate-smart agricultural practices adoption rate in 2022
Rate of women in project activities and trainings in 2022
Number of supported farmer organizations in current phase
Organizational Development – Strengthening of UNIOCASMO
One of our achievements in Honduras was the establishment of the second-tier farmer organization UNIOCASMO as part of the ICP project in Ocotepeque in 2014. Now, ten years later, it has 605 members - 65 % men, 35 % women, and 23 % youth. Members benefit from access to new markets, better coffee prices, and access to processing facilities.