Rwenzori

CONTEXT

The project takes place in the Rwenzori region, a few kilometres from the western border with the Congo Democratic Republic. The area has been massively deforested for decades and plantations of exotic species harmful for natural ecosystems have been promoted in the last 30 years. With the rising challenges surrounding climate change, farmers are now affected by excessive temperatures, land erosion and degradation, longer dry periods with fewer water amounts.

All participatory farmers are members of Rwenzori Farmers Cooperative Union (RFCU); the project currently involves six of the fourteen primary cooperatives represented by RFCU. Farmers cultivate in average 2 acres of mixed crops, mostly used for their own food and subsistence (apart from vanilla, cocoa and coffee). While vanilla can bring decent revenues when well cultivated and in significant amounts, most farmers are under-producing with not so well-managed vanilla, and are also subjects to theft, all the more impacting negatively their production.

OBJECTIVES

The project aims at improving growing conditions for coffee -and as a consequence, for cocoa and vanilla – by providing shade, humidity and improving soil quality. On the other hand, it enables to generate additional and diversified sources of incomes and livelihood resources over the medium and long term (fruits, fodder, fuelwood, timber, medicinal products, etc.).

Today, the project is developed in partnership with the Louis Dreyfus Foundation and the Louis Dreyfus Company, Nespresso and Ben&Jerry’s. Together, we support small-scale coffee producers, train farmers on good agricultural practices.