De un vistazo
Ubicación: Perú
Áreas de impacto: Ingresos sostenibles
People Supported:
Women, Smallholder Farmers, Older Adulta
Se unió a NESsT Portafolio :
2024
Visión general
Located in the coffee-growing region of Perené in Junin, Peru, Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Santa Ana is a coffee cooperative with environmental and community well-being at its core. Since its founding in 2018 with just 22 members, the cooperative has grown to support over 170 small-scale coffee farmers across Perené and neighboring districts to harvest, process, and sell certified organic and Fair-Trade coffee. Nearly half of these producers are women, many of whom are heads of their households.
Santa Ana's technical support ensures its members can grow coffee using sustainable practices that enrich local biodiversity and soil health. Instead of using synthetic fertilizers, Santa Ana coffee producers use natural manure and organic farm waste to boost soil fertility and improve the nutrient absorption of their coffee plants. In addition, the cooperative works with members to replace aging trees with new varieties that are disease- and climate-resistant, supporting them to adapt to fluctuating weather patterns and preserve local biodiversity.
Additionally, Santa Ana's reforestation projects support producers to plant pine and eucalyptus trees in the areas surrounding their farms. These trees act as natural barriers and shade for their coffee crops, moderating extreme temperatures and reducing soil erosion.
Santa Ana’s support goes beyond on-farm assistance. In addition to regular technical visits to help producers of all ages improve crop management and coffee quality, the cooperative’s team provides support with transporting coffee beans from remote farms to its processing plant. It also places great emphasis on promoting the heritage of coffee cultivation among younger generations, ensuring young farmers have an economically viable, sustainable livelihood. These services are part of the cooperative’s broader work to conserve and safeguard generational knowledge, with the average age of Santa Ana’s members being 49 years old.
Through targeted technical support and environmentally-friendly practices, members of Santa Ana have increased their production capacity by over 40%. As a result, they now earn on average 77% more than they would without cooperative membership. One of these members is Cirila Pari Calederón, a 59-year-old women who has been working as a coffee producer for over 30 years. Since joining the cooperative four years ago, she has received personalized assistance to grow higher-quality coffee varieties, increasing her coffee yields and income.
Resultados e impacto
172
small-holder farmers supported
+50%
of members are women
53%
of members are over the age of 45
77%
higher earnings than without cooperative membership
“NESsT’s financing has been instrumental to our growth as an organization. With this support, we’ve strengthened key areas of our operations, expanded our international client base, and significantly boosted our growth and expansion while generating direct benefits for our coffee producers. We’ve also improved working conditions for our administrative team and increased our competitiveness in the challenging coffee market. ”
NESsT Inversión
Looking ahead, Santa Ana is launching several new initiatives to expand its impact. It is developing demonstration farms equipped with farming tools and coffee processing supplies, which will serve as learning hubs for 25 producers to train in organic, sustainable practices.
With a revolving credit line from NESsT, Santa Ana will be able to buy more coffee from its producers as they increase the quality of their coffee and the productivity of their small farms.
Additionally, the cooperative is investing in geolocation technology to use drones to map farm boundaries and identify protected forest areas. As Santa Ana improves its traceability practices, NESsT portfolio managers will work alongside the cooperative to diversify its client base and attract international buyers interested in sourcing high-quality coffee with transparency around origin and farming practices.