Category: Water and Natural Resources

291. The coffee and water paradox at origin

2012-08-07 Comments Off on 291. The coffee and water paradox at origin

CRS has worked with smallholder coffee farmers in Central America for 10 years to help expand the market opportunities available to them.  Over the past five years, CRS has also promoted integrated water resource management in coffee-growing communities throughout Central America.  In the process, CRS has identified — and taken initial steps to address — […]

259. “Downstream”

2012-04-17 Comments Off on 259. “Downstream”

Two of my colleagues here in Latin America, one a water resource management specialist and the other an authority on agroforestry and climate change, will deliver a presentation at the 2012 SCAA Expo on Saturday on coffee and water resource management at origin.  The presentation, which fills a persistent gap in the SCAA lecture lineup, […]

251. SCAA 2012: The view from the coffeelands

2012-03-12 Comments Off on 251. SCAA 2012: The view from the coffeelands

In keeping with an annual tradition started back in 2009, today I publish my third annual preview of “don’t miss” SCAA presentations.  This year, I divide my picks into two “streams of enlightenment” — “downstream” presentations that push knowledge of origin toward the marketplace, and “upstream” presentations that bring market intelligence to farmers and agencies […]

234. Coffee, water and conflict in El Salvador

2012-01-16 Comments Off on 234. Coffee, water and conflict in El Salvador

Back in November, my colleague Robyn Fieser reported here on a success story from our CAFE Livelihoods project in El Salvador – how we helped the Las Colinas cooperative comply with national environmental regulations and avoid a forced closure of its wet mill by financing the installation of a wastewater treatment system. Today, I share […]

222. CAFE success story: Water works

2011-11-28 Comments Off on 222. CAFE success story: Water works

This post was contributed by my colleague Robyn Fieser, the Regional Information Officer for CRS in Latin America and the Caribbean. – – – – – Running a 500-acre, organic coffee farm deep in western El Salvador’s mountains has posed plenty of challenges over the years for the 89 members of Las Colinas coffee cooperative.  […]

153. Thank you – Hope – Peace

2011-04-20 Comments Off on 153. Thank you – Hope – Peace

The title of this post was not lifted from a greeting card.  Rather, it was my travel itinerary on my recent visit to Honduras, which took me from the vibrant coffee town of Gracias (Thank you) through Esperanza (Hope) to Marcala in the department of La Paz (Peace).  The visit was designed, as I have […]

152. Coffee for water

2011-04-19 Comments Off on 152. Coffee for water

Yesterday I reflected on the idea of “water for coffee.”  Today: “coffee for water.” We all know that water is important for the quality of your coffee.  But what does your coffee do to improve the quality of water in the coffeelands?  As it turns out, a lot.

151. Water for coffee

2011-04-18 Comments Off on 151. Water for coffee

With SCAA right around the corner, I revive my annual lament about the exclusive focus at the show on the quality of the water that goes into your coffee.  Last year, I celebrated the water that doesn’t go into your coffee.  Smallholder cooperatives all across the coffeelands are adopting water-efficient post-harvest technologies to reduce their […]

93. “Without shade, there is no coffee”

2010-09-14 Comments Off on 93. “Without shade, there is no coffee”

I recently had the opportunity to visit with a group of farmers in the sun-baked department of Usulután in eastern El Salvador. These farmers live at the lower bounds of coffeelands, as low as 400-500 meters above sea level. At this elevation, the sun is relentless and punishing and water is scarce. The only hope for sustainable coffee farming is effective shade management. When one middle-aged farmer observed that the leaves fell from the coffee plants that were directly exposed to the sun, an older one in the group shook his head and offered this wisdom: “Shade is the foundation. Without shade, there is no coffee.”

86. “With coffee, we all win”

2010-08-26 Comments Off on 86. “With coffee, we all win”

I recently heard an agronomist tell a group of farmers in El Salvador: “With coffee, we all win.”  How true.  Shade farming and other sustainable production practices deliver each of the four cardinal environmental services: carbon sequestration, biodiversity, water resource management and scenic beauty.  We have been working for years to help smallholder farmers increase […]