Enhancing Climate Resilience on Coffee Farms
TREES AND SUPPORTING PLANTS
ACRES
FARMERS
FAMILIES IMPACTED
HOST ORGANIZATION
Café Organico Marcala (COMSA)
LOCATION
Márcala La Paz, Honduras
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Café Organico Marcala (COMSA) is a cooperative of 1,573 small coffee producers in Márcala La Paz Honduras. COMSA has a strong history as a leader in the organic coffee industry and deep experience in agroforestry. Grow Ahead first starting working with COMSA in 2017 to fund scholarships for farmers to attend COMSA’s renowned organic agriculture training program. Since then, Grow Ahead and COMSA have partnered three times to support agroforestry programs and farmer training, including a training for women farmers in 2020.
The "Enhancing Climate Resilience on Coffee Farms” project aims to plant 160,000 trees with 1,210 farmer families, covering nearly 4,000 acres of land. This program will provide over 20 varieties of trees specifically chosen to help restore water cycles, improve biodiversity, increase shade for coffee plants, provide food for wildlife and so much more. Biodiverse coffee farms are better suited to adapt to the impacts of climate impact, including hurricanes and droughts. Another key to this project is farmer training. Farmers will participate in COMSA’s training program to learn valuable agroforestry techniques and support the successful implementation of the program.
The Project Aims to
-
Promote agroforestry among coffee farmers through trainings on planting trees alongside coffee crops for conservation and protection of the environment.
-
Provide over 20 varieties of trees to farmers.
-
Improve shade growing practices for thousands of small-scale farmers to increase yields.
Founded in 2000 by 62 farmers who wanted to change how coffee was grown, Cafe Organico Marcala (COMSA) is now comprised of over 1,200 members, many of whom belong to the Lenca indigenous peoples, bringing traditional sustainable farming practices to the fore. Now internationally recognized as innovators in organic practices—from carbon sequestration, and coffee drying innovations, to the recycling of wastewater—they share their practices with farmers from across Latin America through workshops. COMSA is guided by the goal of improving the standard of living of its members through the marketing of coffee, respecting the environment and offering better performance conditions for its members, workers, and the community.
