Women-led Reforestation in Nicaragua
TREES AND SUPPORTING PLANTS
HECTARES
FARMERS
TOTAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS IMPACTED
HOST ORGANIZATION
SOPPEXCA
LOCATION
Jinotenga, Nicaragua
ABOUT THE PROJECT
SOPPEXCCA is a 520-family-strong coffee cooperative based in Jinotega, Nicaragua. The cooperative’s members have long faced food insecurity, and established a Food Security Committee to support projects that address seasonal hunger and help families build a more secure and diverse economic foundation.
The reforestation project will work with 103 women coffee farmers to develop agroforestry systems on their home gardens, and plant 34,950 trees and supporting plants. Each family will plant hardwood trees that pull carbon out of the atmosphere, fruit trees, including citrus, avocados and peaches, and other plants to improve soil nutrients and prevent erosion in food-forest systems.
The women of SOPPEXCCA have been developing the first organic farmers market in Jinotega to bring fruits, vegetables and other products to a city of 130,000 people who have little access to chemical-free food. By increasing the agroforestry home garden program and adding more women to the organic market, this project will help farmers and their families strengthen their knowledge about the importance of consumption of fruits and vegetables, add a new source of income, and increase biodiversity and carbon sequestration in the region.
SOPPEXCCA is a 520-family-strong coffee cooperative based in Jinotega, Nicaragua. The average family farms five acres of coffee, and owns about 8.6 acres of land in total. Due to the lack of government support or a social safety net, SOPPEXCCA serves as a critical resource in the communities they serve. Low income from coffee, combined with the lack of access to healthy food or a secure social safety net leaves many families vulnerable to food scarcity — facing an estimated three and a half months of food insecurity every year.
Since 2011, SOPPEXCCA has partnered with Food 4 Farmers, an organization that works with coffee farmers to build long-term food security, to develop long-term strategies that address seasonal hunger and help families build a more secure and diverse economic foundation. Together, they’ve transformed coffee farms into diversified food hubs, launched a school garden program with 4 schools and 657 students, strengthened soil and water conservation, brought organic food to the area, and provided nutrition and food security education for hundreds of farming families.
