Located on the banks of the Huallaga River in the Peruvian Amazon, Cuencas del Huallaga Asociacion De Productores Agropecuario (“Cuencas del Huallaga”) sources high-quality Fairtrade, organic cocoa from over 500 smallholder farmers, paying fair prices for their products.
Cuencas del Huallaga equips its members with technical training in organic farming methods, helping them achieve high yields while avoiding the use of harmful pesticides. This support helps producers to transform their farms into profitable, eco-friendly businesses.
Cuencas del Huallaga supports over 500 small coffee farmers
The Lirio Fund’s investment will provide working capital to Cuencas del Huallaga on an as-needed basis, supporting the social enterprise to increase the number of cacao suppliers it sources from and boost its organic cacao production capacity.
Cuencas del Huallaga operates across remote San Martin, Ucayali, and Junín communities that have limited access to basic public services, healthcare, and education – around 90% of the local population do not have a high school diploma.
Local small farmers often face difficulties in reaching the market and have to resort to selling their crops to middlemen at low prices. Moreover, limited access to technical knowledge means many local producers continue to use farming practices that are unsustainable, leading to deforestation and soil degradation.
Cuencas del Huallaga trains local farmers to develop environmentally-friendly farming practices
“Working closely with NESsT’s portfolio managers, our aim is to build on our decade of work in the region improving rural livelihoods and enhancing sustainable local development. Together, we can generate and sustain positive social, environmental, and economic change across the local communities of San Martin, Ucayali, and Junín, and for the small-holder producers who live and work there.”
Cuencas del Huallaga uses a geolocation app to monitor the cacao production of its members and detect areas in which trees are cut down to plant crops.
This advanced quality control system guarantees the traceability of its cacao beans and allows the cooperative to work alongside its members to improve their farming practices.
The app also enables Cuencas del Huallaga to maintain close communication with farmers and their families to ensure their wellbeing.
NESsT will support the social enterprise to hold workshops in targeted areas to actively engage women in its cacao production activity. The cooperative plans to extend its technical support to 850 small-holder farmers in the next three years, with 50% of these being women.