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Muddy Boots
An ‘anti-green-washing-checklist’ for coffee practitioners
I spend a lot of time trying to understand how the coffee sustainability sector, which I know firsthand is full of smart, ambitious, well-intentioned people, so often falls short of its goals.My colleagues and I care deeply about making change, so why does...
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From Italy to Guatemala, Lavazza visits Chiquimula
Since 2010, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) implements its vision to enable coffee farmers worldwide to adapt to climate change. See what our partners from Lavazza experienced when visiting the project region in Trifinio. “I became more and more...
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The Coffee Sector is Programming with Grandpa and Gambles with Its Future
The Coffee Sector is Programming with Grandpa and Gambles with Its Future by Michael Opitz, Managing Director HRNS The situation of youth and their motivation to engage in coffee production are the most critical indicators for the success of our sustainability...
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A community takes care of its own water supply
Since 2010, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) implements its vision to enable coffee farmers worldwide to adapt to climate change. Water scarcity is one of the challenges, farmers face. HRNS-staff Johannes Thoma tells the story of the Idugumbi-Community...
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Adaptation, Resilience, and Sustainability: The Next Chapter in Coffee Production
Aida Escolán, originally from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, moved to rural Ocotepeque eight years ago to take over her grandfather’s coffee farm. The petite woman jumping down from the driver’s seat of her dusty off-road pickup is an ironic scene, but Aida’s...
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Brewing up Climate Resilience in the Coffee Sector
Since 2010, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) implements its vision to enable coffee farmers worldwide to adapt to climate change. Together with four other organizations, c&c published a catalogue to motivate more investments into climate...
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My Awe and Amazement with the Mareu Youth Group
Our program Coffee Kids aims to empower young coffee farmers to create thriving businesses. This it how they do it in Tanzania: On a seemingly typical December morning, the time had come for me to visit the Mareu Youth Group in Arusha region, Tanzania. I planned to do...
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Sweeting Coffee Yields with Farm-Grown Honey in Indonesia
Inviting us to stand in a leafy green corner outside his house and holding up a hand-crafted, wooden bee box, Sofik beams as he tells us of his bees. “Since I started raising bees, the coffee on my farm is doing better, while the cash I earn from selling honey helps...
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Coffee Pulp Soda?!
An accustomed Wednesday morning in San Antonio Huista, Huehuetenango, Guatemala always starts with a traditional breakfast of eggs, black beans and plantains, and an early visit to the local market to get fresh food for the day. Today was different. The busiest street...
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Café Con Historia: Leveron Family, Ocotepeque, Honduras
The Leveron family lives on a small coffee farm in Ocotepeque, Honduras, part of the Trifinio region in Central America, the tri-border area of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. In the Trifinio, the main agricultural activity is coffee farming. For Kevin, Olvin,...
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Climate Smart Innovation in Tanzania
Since 2010, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) implements its vision to enable coffee farmers worldwide to adapt to climate change. See how this resulted in climate-smart innovation in Usa River, Tanzania. Ubunifu is the Swahili word for creativity. And...
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Sunflowers as Climate-Smart Agricultural Practice
Since 2010, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) implements its vision to enable coffee farmers worldwide to adapt to climate change. See how innovation in working with cover crops colors up Honduras: coffee&climate agronomist Karina Orellana is holding...
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Els in the Field
“Can we have both of them in the shot for the interview?” I asked Els while setting up the camera, nodding to the change agent couples sitting a few meters away from us. They were waiting to be interviewed by Els Lecoutere, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of...
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Brazil: An Emotional Journey
HRNS is an exclusive implementing partner for International Coffee Partners (ICP), so sometimes we in headquarters, get the opportunity to travel to origin to visit with farmers, partners, and all the key players of the region. When the chance arose to travel to...
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The sweet taste of honey at the foots of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
Our program Coffee Kids aims to empower young coffee farmers to create thriving businesses. This it how they do it in Tanzania: Proud and with a smile, 27-year old Jehovaness is holding up an Arabica seedling from her own nursery. Her business plan is written on...
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Investing in Youth in Coffee Growing Communities
Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS), SAFE and the Sustainable Food Lab conducted a review of current programs and practices to support youth in coffee growing communities in Latin America. From the executive summary: "The issue of sustainability in the coffee sector has...
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Resolutions for Myself, and for the Coffee Sustainability Sector
I’ve always been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. They’re a great way to reflect, learn, and get a little bit closer to the person I want to be.This year, I’m thinking even more about my resolutions because it’s not just the calendar that’s changing, it’s...
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Colombia, Coffee & The Next Generation
When one thinks of coffee they usually are not thinking about its origins and how it got to their cup. However, if you ask them where they think their cup of coffee came from, you’ll get an overwhelming response, Colombia! A country rich in tradition, a tradition deep...
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Announcing winners: 5th Annual Força Café Coffee Championship 2018
The 5th Annual Força Café Coffee Championship 2018 has winning coffees. They are from the Matas de Minas region, which won both categories: Natural coffee, with the lot of Mr. Elieser Carmelito da Silva (86.75 points) and Peeled cherry coffee, with the Deivison...
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Appreciating Family Farmers Work in Brazil: Força Café Coffee Championship
Best ideas often come unexpected. And that is what happened in late 2012 to HRNS do Brasil Technical Director, Max Ochoa, during a meeting with the exporter Stockler Comercial e Exportadora Ltda. “We discussed about challenges of family farmers access to the market...
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Conference: The Future of Coffee Cultivation
Shaping the future of coffee cultivation is not only a question of marketing for the coffee value chain. A whole generation of rural youth in coffee producing regions is depending on that. That's why we are happy that our Managing Director Michael Opitz is...
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