For Carlos Vargas of Unión Varsán coffee mill in Monteverde, participating in the NAMA Café has had multiple positive impacts, from the increase in tasting notes, to the production of his own fertilizer and the generation of important information to share with buyers and tourists that visit the mill.
For Daniela Gutiérrez of La Montaña Tarrazú coffee mill, an environmentally-friendly coffee production goes before all else. With her participation in the NAMA Café, the young woman confirmed her processes are already sustainable and identified possible areas for improvement.
Together with the Fundación Banco Ambiental we support coffee producers in Costa Rica with the introduction of more than 70,000 shade trees in their coffee plantations. Shade trees bring a multitude of benefits: they contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases, protect local biodiversity, reduce the number of agrochemicals required, and support the regulation of the micro-climate of the coffee plantation.
Note: This videos is only available in Spanish.
An important focus of our work has been the support of coffee farmers to adapt to the impact of climate change. Diego Loria, a technical adviser at ICAFE, has already noticed that the number of shade tree species and disease-resistant coffee varieties has increased considerably in coffee plantations. But for him, the most striking thing is the change of mentality of the traditional producers: “They already identify more with the Good Agricultural Practices we promote - the important thing is that the producer himself recognizes their importance.”
"When many little people, in many little places, do many little things, they can change the whole world."
Just like this African proverb pinpoints, it is not only one person or one institution to realize the work in the context of the Coffee NAMA of Costa Rica, but rather a fruitful collaboration of everyone.
We congratulate all coffee producers, mills, extension workers and members of the partner and support institutions, who have been laboring relentlessly during the past couple of years to stimulate the transformational change happening in the Costa Rican coffee sector and to serve as a model for the rest of the sector, the country and the world.
Important: This video is only available in Spanish.
Featured: Cost-efficient, Low-emissions, Quality coffee, Sustainable coffee coffee mills, competitiveness, GIZ, Good agricultural practices, ICAFE, MAG, marketing, MINAE, MRV, NSP, processing, producers, production, results, sustainability"It is important to assess the emission of greenhouse gases to make decisions that help us to reduce those emissions in order to produce a coffee low in emission and allow the world to know what it is really consuming", explains Carlos Vásquez from Coopepilangosta R.L. their motivation to participate in the Coffee NAMA.
Featured: Cost-efficient, Low-emissions, Quality coffee, Sustainable coffee coffee mills, financing, GIZ, ICAFE, MAG, marketing, MINAE, MRV, NDC, NSP, processing, results, sustainabilityThe three sister of Las Dueñas Coffee feel 100% committed to the #NAMACafé. Apart from having renewed almost 50% of their coffee farm, the three female producers implement all 10 of the initiative´s good agricultural practices. Ana Gomes da Silva explaines how and why she works on making her coffee cultivation mor environmentally friendly.
To Arnoldo Guerrero, administrator of the association of producers from Cerro Turrubares - APROCETU, the trainings of the Coffee NAMA first seemed a bit complex - but they sure paid off: Arnoldo tells that not only in the production, but also in the coffee mill they achieved a significative reductions of greenhouse gases as well as electricity consumption.
Beatriz Elizondo, coordinator of ICAFE´s regional office in Los Santos, highlights the great willingness to learn that coffee producers show in the Coffee NAMA's trainings: “They ask us a lot of things, and the most important thing for us is that the producers leave with less doubts, that they understand very well the concepts that we provide them in order to replicate them on their farms.”
