Fundación Grupo Allpa

Quito, Ecuador

An Overview Of Our Solution

N/A

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Rural

Organization type

Nonprofit

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Forests

Population impacted

413 families

Size of agricultural area

5964,53 Ha

Production quantity

318 TM

People employed

9 people

Describe your solution

With funding from a Fair Trade/Organic Cacao buyer (Lush Cosmetics), Grupo Allpa engaged in a long term project with cacao grower coops from Esmeraldas, work begun with a first level coop (ECO-CACAO) and later engaged with a second level coop that it belongs to (UOPROCAE- “Unión de Organizaciones de Cacao Arriba de Esmeraldas”). The focus of the project called “Regenerative Cacao” is to promote regenerative land management and farming practices at small organic farms. The project worked on three levels, individual farmers, coop`s human resources (technical assistance and leaders) and generating added value for the cacao beans. At the farm level, three groups of “regenerative practices” were promoted and implemented by farmers: soil regeneration (erosion control, terracing, organic fertilization and restoration of microbiological balance), watershed regeneration (creek restoration and reforestation) and biodiversity regeneration (diversification of production, establishment of conservation areas and micro-corridors), to support this work demonstration plots and community nurseries were established in the first level coops. Human resources from the farmer coops and other NGOs giving technical assistance were trained in the implementation of “regenerative practices” in order to enlarge the team for later stages of the project.

Describe your implementation

In 2014 the project focused on Developing a core area by choosing 5 closely located farms in the communities of Caimito, Tóngora and Tongorachí whose owners already had high environmental awareness. This stage involved practical training and application of regenerative practices at the participant’s farms. Training focused on soil conservation and regeneration, watershed restoration, stewardship of biodiversity and technical management of organic cacao groves. In 2015 we worked on Expanding of the core Area, 3 farmers trained in 2014 were hired to lead 5 farmers team and to implement regenerative practices. More training on regenerative cacao farming included staff from other ongoing projects and farmers from other communities. In 2016 we focused on Expanding within ECO-CACAO and preparing expansion into other coops. Six trainees from previous years led work teams. Regenerative work was carried out in 40 farms (mostly within ECO-CACAO). Demonstration plots were established at 6 first degree coops that comprise UOPROCAE. Implementation of demo plots included practical introductory workshops on regenerative cacao farming. Deeper training was provided for project and other NGO´s staff and others. Standards and a database for the “Regenerative Cacao” participatory certification system were implemented to offer traceability. Key success factors throughout the whole process have been the promotion and rescue of the ancestral “minga de cambiamanos” work system, working towards higher cacao yields, implementing tree nurseries for high yielding “nacional” cacao plants, providing diverse fruit treelets to farmers and hiring trainee farmers to work with their peers in their own coops. Biggest hurdle has been resistance to change and distrust of some farmers due to disappointing experiences with prior development projects, fortunately the gradual implementation of the project allows for the development of trust and adjustment to the micro-local realities.

External connections

ECO-CACAO is the first degree coop were work has focused, UOPROCAE is the second degree coop were work is about to expand into, Lush Cosmetics is a cacao buyer that provided funding for the initiative from 2014 to 2016, Caimito Sustentable is a local organization located in the core area of the project that has helped with logistics for most training workshops, Gregory Landua and TGI (Terra Genesis International) have been co-developers of the regenerative cacao concept and helped write the first years proposal, CEFODI is a local NGO that has been working with the cacao coops involved for over 10 years and has been a very important ally in creating interest about the project in the leadership of the coops. This project has the potential to impact the environmental awareness of farmers and policy makers in the region because it deals with the health of watersheds in a time when climate change in wreaking havoc. The terracing and restoration work being implemented in the farms at the headwaters of watersheds will diminish sedimentation in rivers and in the case of the ECOCACAO area, the marine reserve´s sea bottom (thus benefiting fisheries). Many of the cacao growers are also cattle ranchers and they will start improving their management of watersheds as a requirement to become regenerative farmers and get a better price for their produce. We are calling the attention of several agencies to notice us in hopes of pushing for soils and watershed conservation policies.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

The north coast of Ecuador is part of the Choco Hotspot, which is being deforested at an alarming rate. Logging, extensive cattle farming and conventional cash crop monocultures are the main deforestation factors. Traditional farming isn´t usually taken into account as a major cause of deforestation or environmental degradation, nonetheless it plays an important role in the destiny of the Chocoan rainforests because a very large percentage of land (including important forests remnants) is still owned by small farmers. These farmers closeness to the earth can potentially turn them into the best allies for ecosystem restoration and conservation. The challenge is that more and more small traditional farmers are turning towards pesticide/fertilizer intensive monocultures of cash crops. An important cause for this shift is the progressive loss of fertility that farmland has being going through after generations of increasingly inadequate and unsustainable farming practices.

Describe the context in which you are operating

Esmeraldas has the largest remnants of rainforest on the Ecuadorian cost, as well as the highest deforestation rate. The main cash crops in the province al African palm, grass (for cattle) and cacao. Most large scale operations are conventional monocultures with a heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers and very poor environmental practices. Small farmers in the province on the other hand are still mostly organic (either by choice and/or by poverty), but they have been working for generations with increasingly unsustainable farming practices, partly due to being displaced to marginal lands with rugged topography and shallow erodible soils and partly due to being misguided by productivity centered mainstream technical support. This has degraded soils and watersheds in farms to a degree where production levels have diminished and environmental problems have arisen. This coupled with the tendency towards monoculture and the increase in the use of agrochemicals makes it imperative to change the way of farming to reverse the ever increasing brittleness of the landscape and to break the cycles of desertification and flooding that are being enhanced by climate change.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Watershed restoration and reforestation is helping freshwater animals come back to previously degraded creeks and rivers; this work has also increased water availability for land animals in times of drought. Soil restoration by terracing slopes is improving the health of the soil food web, helping increase water infiltration, drastically reducing erosion and decreasing creek bed sedimentation (when widely replicated it will also decrease the relentless sedimentation of coastal areas that is affecting the breeding grounds and homes of thousands of marine species). Diversification of production in farms as well as the establishment of conservation areas (351 Ha. so far) and micro-corridors in farms is going to benefit biodiversity by increasing the availability of food for wildlife and increasing landscape forest connectivity. All this work has initially focused on the area of influence of the Galera San Francisco Marine Reserve and could be a good model of development for buffer zones in protected areas elsewhere (both terrestrial and marine).

Language(s)

Which language(s) are spoken in the area where your solution is implemented?

Water

Watershed health is increasing in the areas were farmers have been applying creek restoration, reforestation and cacao grove terracing. The headwaters of the Caimito River have benefited the most, but work is just starting in other communities. Water tables below terraced farms are likely to rise in the midterm due to higher infiltration and this in time will lead to increases in the flow of streams. Freshwater fish and invertebrates are starting to recolonized some restored creeks.

Food Security/Nutrition

Diversification of production implies that only 60% of the trees in cacao groves are actually heirloom cacao, the rest belong to a diverse array of species of fruits, palms and native timbers. Most of the fruits planted are for human consumption. Training for farmers has included topics like food sovereignty, seed saving and ecological farm design; This implies that farmers dedicate some of their land and efforts to growing food for their families and trading in their communities

Economic/Sustainable Development

A big motivation for farmers has been getting better prices for their produce (including cacao), the project is creating a new added value product “regenerative cacao” which as we say goes “beyond organic” and that is what most small artisanal chocolatiers in Europe and the US are looking for. We have a long list of potential customers and some sales about to happen. On the other hand having more diverse crops to sell and healthier soils ready for changing to other crops if necessary are a good

Climate

Microclimatic changes can already be felt in the areas were more work has been executed, with cooler air flowing through farmland managed generatively. Carbon is being sequestered and put in soils at a higher rate than any other agricultural system (conventional or organic) due to facts like periodically adding woody material to the terraces sloped cacao groves, the intensive reforestation efforts, and the chop and drop weeding system.

Sustainability

Funding from Lush Cosmetics (Sustainable Lush Fund) aimed for 4 years, later Lush Cosmetics would buy 100 TM of Regenerative Cacao per year with a prize that would partly co-fund the coop´s technical staff (whose work includes promoting regenerative practices). Grant funding has come to an early stop, this put together with reduction of funding from other NGOs and a poor cacao harvest has driven the initiative into readjustment. Other NGOs supporting the coops (CEFODI and ACRA) will keep a regenerative bias in their productivity focused approach. UOPROCAE´S leaders are looking for ways to get farmers from other first level coops (asides ECO-CACAO) to start implementing regenerative farming to sell their produce with this added value.

Return on investment

A total of $169.000 was invested in three years, Administration took 15% of funds. As a result 40 farms in ECO-CACAO already meet the minimal regenerative criteria (40 could easily join). In 2017 20 MT of regenerative cacao would be available, potential prize is 20.000 ($1000 prize per Metric Ton). If observed growth rate in number of participants continues (it triples yearly), and the percentage of application of regenerative techniques amongst workshop attendees continues at 40%, the potential regenerative roof for UOPROCAE is120 MT, achieving this could take from 2 to 3 years and potential profits could add up to $120.000, plenty to cover regenerative farming related technical assistance and an additional prize for farmers.

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

Grupo Allpa and the project´s staff have been developing a model that can later be applied by other organic cacao growers as well as any farmer coop that wants to become more sustainable and at the same time add value to its produce. There is a lot of potential of applying Regenerative Farming techniques in agroforestry systems. For successfully replicating the work developed within ECO-CACAO in the other 5 cacao grower coops comprising UOPROCAE, the main need is funding for hiring complementary experienced local field staff (many of the existing candidates are proficient, have experience and/or have already been trained in regenerative techniques) and organizing introductory and advanced workshops for farmers. The budget estimated for replicating the work in other 5 cacao growers coops is $40.000 for a year, taking in account that there are other partners (CEFODI and ACRA) already covering some staff costs, implementing tree nurseries and covering maintenance of demonstration plots.

Overview