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programs
The programs Coffee Kids sponsors are as unique as the communities in which they are based. That’s because Coffee Kids helps communities develop their own programs creating self-sufficiency and ownership that afford coffee-farming families a higher quality of life while still working in coffee. Our projects are classified by four categories, including: Microcredit, Education, Health Care, and Community-Based Projects. (Click the map to view a larger version.)
Below is a list of our partner organizations and how they are creating opportunities in their communities. Click on a name to jump down the page to that program.
| ADESPA | Community-Based Projects |
| APROS | Health Care |
| AUGE | Microcredit & Community-Based Projects |
| CAMPO | Community-Based Projects |
| CECOCAFEN | Microcredit & Education |
| CHAJULENSE | Microcredit & Education |
| COCLA | Health Care |
| FomCafé | Microcredit & Community-Based Projects |
| FHC | Education |
| ICSUR | Community-Based Projects |
| SOPPEXCCA | Education |
| STIAP | Community-Based Projects |
ADESPA (Association for Sustainable Development of Paraxaj)
Aldea Paraxaj, GuatemalaCommunity-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 2006
ADESPA Case Study (PDF; 204 KB)
Look at ADESPA photos on Flickr
Paraxaj, Guatemala, is home to 125 families living on a coffee plantation. ADESPA offers adult literacy classes to community members, helping alleviate the negative effects of adult illiteracy, and hopes to stimulate curiosity and self-esteem leading to greater awareness of human rights.
ADESPA has also been conducting a series of health workshops teaching community members the importance of a varied, nutritious diet and how to use locally grown medicinal plants. Most recently ADESPA has been developing small, income-generating group projects that provide supplemental income, and help develop leadership and business skills.
APROS (Association of Health Promoters of San Pedro)
Lake Atitlán, GuatemalaHealth Care – Coffee Kids partner since 1995
APROS Case Study (PDF; 196 KB)
Look at APROS photos on Flickr
APROS is an organization of female health promoters from six rural, isolated coffee-growing communities around Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Their community-based health care project trains new health promoters and teaches women in the communities about basic health care and hygiene. Workshop topics include the use of medicinal plants, the prevention of common ailments, the importance of a nutritious diet, and pre- and post-natal care.
APROS also coordinates an environmental education project for children in two local schools. Their newest project for widows offers medical check-ups, basic food supplies, recreational activities, emotional support and provides a sense of belonging for women who have lost their husbands to migration or years of civil war.
AUGE (Self-Managed Development)
Veracruz, MexicoMicrocredit and Community-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 1995
AUGE Case Study (PDF; 252 KB)
Look at AUGE photos on Flickr
The Groups of Women Saving in Solidarity (GMAS) microcredit project, developed by AUGE, serves thousands of women and their families. The project provides access to small, low-interest loans to start or expand small businesses, which range from selling tortillas and vegetables to opening a general store or bakery. The GMAS project is unique for its emphasis on savings accounts in addition to loans. To qualify for loans, members must first demonstrate an ability to save, guaranteeing that they can manage personal finances. Through the program, members generate added income, increase their personal savings, and build their sense of self-esteem.
With Coffee Kids’ support, AUGE has also built a training center in Teocelo, Veracruz. The training center provides a meeting venue and opportunities for Coffee Kids partners from other parts of Latin America to learn about AUGE’s microcredit methodology and share their own experiences.
CAMPO (Center of Support for the Popular Movement of Oaxaca)
Oaxaca, MexicoCommunity-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 1996
CAMPO Case Study (PDF; 157 KB)
Look at CAMPO photos on Flickr
CAMPO works with indigenous populations in Oaxaca, Mexico, to foster community activism, human rights awareness, and sustainable agriculture. The organization supports a variety of projects including chicken-raising, organic honey production, worm-composting for organic family gardens, fruit and vegetable canning, and wood-saving stoves.
These projects boost local economic development through community-based business activities. They also strengthen women’s roles in the community by teaching them leadership skills and enhancing their self-esteem. Most recently CAMPO has begun building a training center that even in its unfinished state is functioning as a central, hands-on training site. The training center is used for demonstration projects, research, community outreach and informational exchanges.
CECOCAFEN (Organization of Northern Coffee Cooperatives)
Matagalpa, Jinotega and Nueva Segovia, NicaraguaMicrocredit and Education – Coffee Kids partner since 1998
CECOCAFEN Case Study (PDF; 190 KB)
CECOCAFEN, an association of coffee cooperatives representing more than 2,000 farmers, has two successful projects modeled on Coffee Kids projects in Mexico and Costa Rica. The Groups of Women Saving in Solidarity (GMAS) project supports microcredit and savings groups for women. Participants have access to small low-interest loans, which they invest in small businesses, thus helping to diversify and strengthen the local economy. The income generated from the businesses not only supplements family incomes but also builds the collective savings fund.
CECOCAFEN’s Rural Education Project provides scholarships to high school, vocational and university students. These scholarships make it possible for children from poor coffee-growing communities to continue their education, even when the cost of doing so is beyond their parents’ reach.
CHAJULENSE ASSOCIATION
Chajul, GuatemalaMicrocredit and Education – Coffee Kids partner beginning Fall 2007
The Chajulense Assocation, in the department of El Quiche, Guatemala, was formed in 1988 after a group of coffee growers realized the need to organize themselves to better market their coffee. Over time they began looking for economic alternatives to coffee and providing opportunities to women in the community.
The group is diversifying income by encouraging eco-tourism, textile production, and honey. Coffee Kids support will help the Chajulense Association provide training and equipment for a women’s group interested in producing textiles in a shared workshop.
COCLA (Organization of Agrarian Coffee Cooperatives)
Vilcabamba, PeruHealth Care – Coffee Kids partner since 2007
COCLA Case Study (PDF; 198 KB)
Look at COCLA photos on Flickr
COCLA is a cooperative that comprises approximately 8,500 coffee-producing families in the Cusco region of Peru. COCLA’s health project teaches community members the importance of preventive health care, increases awareness of and access to government-sponsored health services, and advocates for public health resources in the region.
The goals of their project are to train and organize 15 groups of volunteer health promoters who will provide health education in the community; organize a board to advocate for increased government-sponsored health services in the region; and create a local emergency response network that can provide first aid and emergency transportation when necessary.
FomCafé (Fostering Community Initiatives in Coffee Regions)
Oaxaca, MexicoMicrocredit and Community-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 2000
FomCafé Case Study (PDF; 163 KB)
Look at FomCafé photos on Flickr
Iniciativa FomCafé works with coffee-growing communities in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, helping them create and implement community-based projects such as edible mushroom production, microcredit and savings groups, family gardens, organic honey production and health care.
FomCafés projects promote economic diversification as a means of alleviating poverty and encourage a healthier local diet focused on fresh vegetables and organic foods. FomCafé is working to expand and strengthen the edible mushroom, family gardening and microcredit projects.
Fundación Hijos del Campo (The Rural Children’s Education Foundation)
Costa RicaEducation – Coffee Kids partner since 1996
FHC Case Study (PDF; 180 KB)
Look at FHC photos on Flickr
Fundación Hijos del Campo (FHC) began in 1996 as an initiative to provide educational opportunities for the children of coffee farmers in 40 communities belonging to the cooperative COOCAFE in Costa Rica.
Since then FHC has supported educational programs in rural coffee-growing areas by offering scholarships to high school and university students and by making grants to elementary schools for supplies. Many scholarship recipients return to their communities upon receiving their degrees to work as teachers in the same schools where they were once students or as agronomists and accountants at the cooperative.
ICSUR (Association for Research and Training of Southeastern Mexico)
Chiapas, MexicoCommunity-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 2006
ICSUR Case Study (PDF; 184 KB)
Look at ICSUR photos on Flickr
ICSUR is an organization that supports social and economic development in the northern region of Chiapas, Mexico, which is home to several small-scale coffee-growing communities, primarily of the Zoque indigenous group. Their edible mushroom project recycles organic waste from the bean and corn harvests to produce mushrooms. Their chicken-raising project provides a healthy local source of meat and eggs.
Both projects, whose participants are primarily women, help alleviate dependence on the coffee harvest by providing supplemental income through the sale of their products on the local market. They also promote a healthier, more varied diet and help women build business and leadership skills.
SOPPEXCCA (Society of Small Producers for Coffee Export)
Jinotega, NicaraguaEducation- Coffee Kids partner since 2007
SOPPEXCCA Case Study (PDF; 168 KB)
SOPPEXCCA, an association of coffee cooperatives representing 650 farmers, has established two projects for youth in coffee-growing communities. Jóvenes Ambientalistas (Environmental Youth Movement) and Muchachitos del Café (Coffee Children) work with teens and children at rural schools to identify local environmental issues and carry out education campaigns concerning the issues in their communities.
The programs also provide extracurricular activities designed to promote and develop self-esteem, leadership, communication skills, team building, and social awareness. The projects’ goal is to nurture a new generation of people who have the confidence and leadership skills to improve their own quality of life and that of their community.
STIAP (Union of Independent Workers of Alianza Ranch)
El Palmar, GuatemalaCommunity-Based Projects – Coffee Kids partner since 2007
STIAP Case Study (PDF; 154 KB)
Look at STIAP Photos on Flickr
STIAP’s Biodiesel Fuel Production project was started in 2005 in collaboration with a group of researchers from the University of San Carlos in Quetzaltenango. The project — currently producing 100 gallons of biodiesel a week — uses leftover vegetable oil from nearby restaurants. STIAP is now in the process of strengthening the project by creating a sustainable, integrated system using plants such as jathropa and castor beans to provide a reliable and inexpensive source of vegetable oil.
STIAP hopes to protect the local environment and reduce their dependence on outside fuel sources, creating a model of self-sustainability for other rural communities.