Project Aymara - Bolivia

What is the context?

Bolivia is renowned for its organic coffee production. The first coffee plantations in the country began in the 1950s and were characterised by shade-grown coffees.

Since the late 2000s, however, Bolivian producers have been advised to uproot forests to increase yields and to abandon organic certification in favour of chemical treatments. During our first visit to Bolivia in the late 2000s, we wanted to highlight the environmental damage caused by these methods.

With the growing awareness of global warming, it has become clear that the lack of trees is complicating coffee production and the work of producers under the sun.

What does the project involve?

Belco, LATA 16, the San Juan cooperative and the Aljiri cooperative have contributed to a fund to hire agronomic experts and find a solution to deforestation and its negative impact on coffee production and farmers.

We want to show how a reforestation project can reduce the negative impact of bad practices, and create more favourable conditions for coffee trees and workers.

What are the objectives?

The aim of the Aymara project is to reforest the farms of coffee-producing families in search of better coffee and better working conditions. The Aymara project aims to produce 4,000 shade tree seedlings to reforest producers' farms.

Financing

The Aymara project is funded by Belco to the tune of USD 7,000.