Working in northern Guatemala, the Coffee Trust places a priority on "from the ground up" community development.  Believing that true and lasting solutions to the many problems faced by coffee growing communities can best come from the people in those communities, the Coffee Trust builds their programs around this central idea.  It's a complex world and simple solutions are not really that plentiful no matter how much we may wish it were so.  The Coffee Trust takes it one step at a time and the Coffeelands Foundation is proud to be able to work with them on this journey. 

In 2015 the Coffeelands Foundation was able to assist the Coffee Trust with a grant of $500.  That money was used to assist 5 farmers in the the La Roya Recovery project.  La Roya or coffee rust is a fungus affecting coffee plants and the current outbreak has pushed coffee farming families to the edge of survival with some farmers losing up to 75% of their income from coffee production.

Much more work needs to be done but the work of the Coffee Trust finances coffee farmers to tackle coffee rust through improved farming methods and spreading the knowledge of these methods from farmer to farmer. Farmers are trained in effective organic methods to replenish their soils and improve the health of their coffee plants. Farmers are trained to share their new knowledge with other farmers empowering themselves and each other.  This is truly "from the ground up" community development.

The Coffee Trust promotes grassroots development in select coffee-producing communities supporting locally controlled development work that focuses on education, health, economic development and food sovereignty.

The Coffee Trust is a non-profit organization that works with coffee farmers to help them overcome deep poverty.

Coffee grows on some of the world’s richest lands – much of it farmlands that provide food for people.  Several generations ago, cash for coffee lured farmers away from their sustainable lifestyle and replaced their capacity to grow their own food.  Their ancient knowledge of agriculture, passed down from farmer to farmer, was lost. Dependent almost entirely on coffee, farmers have become vulnerable to common volatile price fluctuations of the coffee economy, as well as droughts, fungus and other natural disasters. The effect has been devastating to many coffee farming families.

The Coffee Trust work with farmers to organize themselves and carve out their own future based upon their own priorities, values and cultures.

We support health, education, food sovereignty and alternative income projects so coffee farming families can thrive and be less dependent on coffee as their main source of income.  Our programs grow and expand by passing on knowledge from farmer to farmer – a grassroots rather than top down approach. The Coffee Trust works side by side with coffee farmers helping them to recapture their ancient knowledge, regain their self-sufficiency and prosper at home with their families and their farms.

For more information about The Coffee Trust visit them at their website!