Tailored Programs

Duration: December 2021 to December 2024 (Phase 1)

Initiator: Tchibo

Realization: Instituto BioSistêmico (IBS) (since December 2021)

Other partners: Coomap, Coopfam, Exp. Guaxupé, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), Emater

Location: Sul de Minas, Minas Gerais / Mogiana Paulista, São Paulo

Project goals: Adaptation to climate change, responsible handling of agrochemicals, reforestation of native vegetation

Identified challenges: Impacts of climate change


What we do specifically:

Reforestation of permanent protected areas

In Brazil, the protection of water bodies and land areas has been legally regulated since 1934 with the so-called "Código Florestal" (Forest Code). Every person who owns land is therefore obliged to protect or rebuild a minimum amount of area. Together with local partner organizations and Tchibo representative Cassio Franco Moreira, we establish learning communities with the aim of supporting farmers in improving environmental protection. In a first step, we organize workshops with farmers where they receive information and learn the basics on a theoretical basis. Immediately afterwards, we go to the farms to put the learning directly into practice: how are former water sources identified based on features such as reeds or wetlands? How are these areas measured, prepared, and reforested with plants that correspond to the original vegetation? Together with trainers and equipped with the corresponding seedlings, the young trees are planted - the first steps in the protection and development of the natural water body, and the basis for more biodiversity.


About agrochemicals and alternative measures

The use of agrochemicals is widespread in Brazil's coffee cultivation - understandable when you look at the area and the number of challenges that producers have to deal with. But there are alternatives: In specially developed pilot farms - managed by participants of the project - farmers learn ways apart from agrochemicals to preserve soil health and protect coffee plants from diseases. One variant is to let grasses thrive between the coffee rows or even to spread other plant species in between, because most of the coffee is still grown in monocultures - this means stress for the soils and a strong need for water and additional nutrients. By planting, chemical substances can largely be dispensed with and various advantages can be brought about. Positive benefits are improving the nutrient balance in the soil and providing protection against pests or diseases. Early bloomers, for example, attract bees and other beneficial insects, while deeper-rooted grass species bind the soil better and thus offer protection against erosion. Drying out due to the sun is prevented, erosion is avoided. During the course of the project, we take soil and bean samples, on the one hand for quick wins, on the other hand to determine in the long term what effects the alternative measures have on aspects such as soil health, disease infestation, water balance, coffee quality and quantity and thus also profitability.


Together for a better coffee economy

In the Paisagens Sustentáveis project, we work with two cooperatives, Coomap and Coopfam, whose coffee is partly certified with the organic seal and Fairtrade. But to represent the entire coffee sector, the suppliers Exp. Guaxupé and Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) are also involved, two coffee exporters that represent our more conventional supply chains. This constellation allows farmers to learn from and with each other, to scale the approaches also for conventional farmers, and to create dynamics that motivate everyone for the topic of sustainability and create incentives.


What has been achieved so far

Around 260 small farmers have already networked with each other through the learning communities. These serve as an environment in which everyone can benefit from the experiences of others. The farmers also support each other, for example, when a helping hand is missing or a technical device is needed. By 2024, our goal is to reach a total of 1,600 farmers.

The collaboration of the team works very well. Together with the participating partners, we clarify all important questions - for example, what goals we set, what training is needed, where new seedlings are planted or which pilots (= demonstration projects) are started. It is also important to us to involve our suppliers on site in decision-making processes. Transparent communication between all project partners is the focus. We regularly evaluate and work on a constructive further development of the measures depending on the development of the results.

The team of participants has continued to grow. In June 2021, the Instituto BioSistêmico (IBS) joined, the organization that coordinates the implementation of the projects on site. Since December 2022, we have received additional financial support from the Rabo Foundation to further advance and scale the project. Since the summer of 2023, we have integrated Emater, a part of the Brazilian government that supports us in the further operationalization of the project with expertise and infrastructure.


What we learn from this program

It is important not to focus only on farmers who already have certifications, but rather to pick up everyone in order to bring about a change in the mainstream coffee segment as well.

Duration: March 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024

Project partner: Coffee Care

Locations: Santa Barbara, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Project goals: Adaptation to climate change, income increase, reduction of child labor

Identified challenges: Poverty, emigration, child labor, climate change


What we do specifically:

Increase income

More knowledge leads to more income - for this reason, Coffee Care and Tchibo in Guatemala offer various trainings on topics such as Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), knowledge about fertilizers and soil treatment, which contribute to increasing the productivity and quality of coffee, help with adaptations against climate change and ideally lead to certifications by Rainforest Alliance. This can succeed in improving the income and living situation of the people on site. In addition, we support the farmers' families in generating additional sources of income beyond coffee. These include, for example, the sale of bracelets, the establishment of a bakery to create jobs for women, and the introduction of alternative agricultural projects. We have implemented an adapted form of hydroponics, a type of plant cultivation that uses much less water than traditional agriculture. The cultivation takes place in peat moss, the necessary nutrients are supplied with the water.


Strengthening the development potential of girls

Abriendo Oportunidades is a program of the Population Council that aims to provide Guatemalan girls between the ages of 8 and 17 with access to education, health care, and other continuing education opportunities. Tchibo implements this program in the region of Santa Barbara, Huehuetenango, and offers, among other things, training and workshops on topics such as leadership skills, health and hygiene, violence prevention, and economic empowerment. The program is also aimed at promoting the participation of girls and women in the community and strengthening their self-confidence and skills so that they are better able to make decisions and bring about changes in their lives.


Learn & Invest

The "Learn & Invest" program is designed to support young people and women in the region in choosing a job and finding a job or training position. What jobs are there actually? And what could interest me? "Learn & Invest" is particularly about enabling young people and women to access internships in business fields they are familiar with through workshops. It is also planned to introduce the participants to new business models and show job perspectives. This could allow job seekers to get to know options in the future and possibly also consider job and training offers that they did not know before or had ruled out for themselves. Short-term internships should provide an insight into a profession in just a few days and enable a feeling for different areas of activity. In this way, the participants can make their own experience-based decisions for their future.

Successes

In the current project, we support 2,600 farmers and their families in different ways.

Certifiably good coffee - through the project, we have achieved 1,000 new certifications for Rainforest Alliance and supported 1,600 farmers in maintaining their certification.

The harvest in the context of our agricultural project with peat moss was very good. In this way, we have contributed to improving the nutritional situation on site.

The trainings have achieved good learning results - the farmers have deepened and improved their knowledge about fertilizers, plantation management, coffee harvesting and processing. This has enabled them to sell high-quality coffee. The environment has also benefited, as the area is now cleaner and wastewater is controlled.

Before the project started, coffee from Santa Barbara was not in high demand. This has changed since our commitment on site: The interest in sourcing coffee from this area has increased. This has also boosted the economy and prices are rising with each harvest. All this has led to the farmers producing more coffee on their plots and being able to sell it at a higher price than before.

Coffee Care is active in the community in the long term. Against this background, the people on site often already know Coffee Care and the employees, so that there is already a relationship of trust and there are fewer start-up difficulties.

What we learn from this program

Where can Tchibo really make a difference? And which measures actually have positive effects on the supply chain? The focus of future projects should not only have a high impact, but also a direct relation to Tchibo's business activities.

A basic prerequisite for implementing projects is that we involve the people on site in the decision-making process. The fulfillment of their needs must be reflected in the projects in order to make long-term positive changes possible and to record successes.

It is important to give people know-how so that they can make their own decisions based on it.

We want to buy the coffee of the farmers whom we support through our project work, so that they have a buyer and we can pass on high-quality coffee to our customers.

The focus of our projects should in future be even more on the farmers; less generally on the community. For this reason, both the bakery and the Abriendo Oportunidades will only be continued until the end of 2023 from today's perspective.

It is important to take into account the structures on site. Only in this way can we really change the situation on site with our projects. This also affects family structures. These are different in Guatemala than we know them in Europe (for this reason, women were sometimes not allowed to work in the bakery).

The people in Santa Barbara have few transportation options, which is why the coffee often cannot be brought to the collection point. Therefore, they sometimes sell the coffee to intermediaries who pick up the coffee at their homes, but sometimes pay a lower price. We wanted to develop an app that combines two aspects: on the one hand, create a communication channel directly to the exporter who sends prices to the farmers, and on the other hand, simplify the transport of coffee. We would have broken up existing structures here. After interviews and conversations with the community, it turned out that this was not desired. The risk of failure and also the danger to our partner were too great, so we decided not to implement it. The budget is now being reallocated and invested in more promising, desired projects.

Duration: June 1, 2022 to July 1, 2027

Project partners: Becamo, Inga Foundation

Locations: San Andrés and Caona, Honduras

Project goals: Income increase and adaptations to climate change, childcare

Identified challenges: Poverty, emigration, soil health, child labor


What we do specifically:

Holiday care during harvest time

In Honduras, the harvest season for coffee cherries usually begins in October and extends into February. This period also coincides with school holidays - the result: Due to a lack of childcare options, many coffee farmers have to take their children to the coffee plantations during this time, where they often play unsupervised in the fields or help with the harvest of coffee cherries. Therefore, Tchibo, in partnership with Becamo, creates childcare options. In daycare centers, children are cared for by qualified staff during the day, they also receive meals and have access to educational offers. Since the holidays coincide with the harvest season, teachers are employed in the daycare centers - ideally over the entire project period. This way, we can secure routines and save time resources for organization and training. In special trainings, farmers' families are sensitized to the problems of child labor - conversely, this is also one of the reasons why the daycare centers are well accepted.


Income increase through diversification in cultivation

An important approach to increasing the productivity of the farms - both ecologically and economically - is diversification. For this purpose, Tchibo and Becamo support the cultivation of fruit trees, including avocados and citrus fruits, on the coffee fields. This brings various advantages: The fruit trees provide the coffee plants with necessary shade, which can increase quality and performance. At the same time, the fruit trees secure food for the farmers and their families. They may even become a second source of income. The cultivation of different varieties and the production of organic input also contribute to better biodiversity and soil health, thus making a contribution in the fight against climate change.


Production of organic input

By 2027, Tchibo is committed to building 200 so-called Pulp Handling Booths. These are machines in which organic input is generated by drying coffee pulp - natural fertilizer, which can be used on the fields and also sold. This in turn opens up another source of income.


New paths, new partners

In Honduras, Tchibo began collaborating with the Inga Foundation in 2022, which launched the "Land for Life" project in 2012. The goal: to help smallholder farmers to escape poverty on their own. To this end, the foundation supports smallholders in the first step with basic foodstuffs, in the second step with firewood, which is used for heating and cooking in rural areas of Honduras, and in the third step with cash crops - plants with which farmers can earn money. In addition to coffee, this includes pepper and cocoa. In addition to supporting families on site and helping them to help themselves, these measures have resulted in an improvement in soil quality; this in turn reduces the need for slash-and-burn agriculture. Because: Not through slash-and-burn, but through the cultivation of the different plant species, nutrients are added to the soil, and the soils are also supplied with additives such as potassium or phosphorus at regular intervals. This cultivates a very good, fertile soil in the regions, which no longer needs any chemical additives.


Management Skills

Learning from and with each other - with exercises to strengthen management skills and productivity and quality trainings, Tchibo contributes to increasing the income of farmers on site. The trainings are designed in such a way that interested parties such as neighbors or relatives can join at any time and learn along - because Tchibo and Becamo aim to make coffee knowledge accessible to everyone in a low-threshold way and thus improve the coffee economy in Honduras across the board.


Learning programs for young people

A major challenge for the future viability of Honduras is emigration. Especially young people leave the country because they see no perspective there. One approach to counteract this is to promote the socio-economic profitability of coffee cultivation. This is exactly the goal pursued by IHCAFE. To secure coffee cultivation in Honduras, Tchibo uses synergies with this Honduran institution. Inspired by existing learning content from IHCAFE, we have developed our own program for young university graduates. In a management skills training, the prospective farmers learn about the business of coffee farms and how they can manage them.


Contractually regulated purchase quantities

Coffee farmers can be sure in their cooperation with Tchibo that they will also sell the coffee they grow. Because the coffee purchase quantity is contractually regulated. This gives people in Honduras more planning security.


Every pack of coffee sold helps

For every 500 gram pack of Beans Brothers product sold, 50 cents go to projects in Honduras. This supports, among other things, the cultivation of fruit trees with the Inga Foundation, the daycare projects or the production of organic input. This additional financial support increases the total project volume, allowing Tchibo to implement additional small measures in the project environment. These include the provision of teaching materials, the financing of meals or the construction of additional classrooms.


Successes

In total, 1,612 farmers will benefit from the commitment by the end of the project in July 2027. Becamo itself supports another 3,000 farmers. The trainings and measures are showing success - so far, the productivity of the participating farmers has increased by 10 to 15 percent.

Each year, Tchibo expects an average of 206 children to be admitted and cared for during the harvest in the daycare centers. In the first harvest season, 174 children were cared for. What also pleases us is that the daycare centers are attracting great general interest and are a source of inspiration for other projects: A neighboring cooperative has picked up on the idea of the daycare centers and wants to realize its own childcare with support.

The partnership with Becamo has always been and continues to be on an equal footing and enables not only the promotion of exchange, but also the building of bridges to other Tchibo projects and the initiation of exchange across national borders. The first step was to link Honduras, Guatemala and Tanzania on the topic of young people and coffee cultivation. Also in the cooperation with the Inga Foundation, it is possible to share competencies, gain experiences and above all learn from and with each other.


What we learn from this program

Diversification is a profitable measure - both for the farmers and for the environment. Therefore, Tchibo wants to work in coffee-like supply chains and promote the cultivation of various types of fruit.

Use the know-how of the farmers and integrate it into processes - because then mutual learning becomes possible, from which Tchibo as a company can also benefit.

Involve women and young people more in trainings. That's why, for example, trainings are held in the afternoons so that as many interested people as possible can participate.

The longer the partnership lasts, the easier the cooperation. A good basis of trust plays an important role for successful cooperation.

Come together with partners who share a similar mindset and act on an equal footing. With Becamo, Tchibo has a project partner who is very open to new ideas and approaches and thus continues the joint path successfully.

Think across countries and use synergies. For the future, an exchange of various project managers from different countries is planned in order to learn from each other and ensure that mistakes are not made twice.

Duration: October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2026

Project partner: City Coffee

Locations: Mbyea and Mbozi, Tanzania

Project goals: Strengthening the next generation of coffee farmers, increasing productivity and quality through enrichment of knowledge, know-how and knowledge transfer for sustainable coffee cultivation

Country-specific challenges: Gender inclusion, climate change


What we do specifically:

Promote young talent & impart knowledge

To strengthen the knowledge of young farmers, Tchibo, in cooperation with City Coffee, has launched Coffee Clubs. These are school clubs that take place at seven schools in Mbyea and Mbozi. They cover content from cultivation to successful sale of coffee. Various modules deal with the recognition of plant diseases, competencies in fertilizers and the appropriate use of water. In addition, comprehensive information about correct pruning and high-yield harvesting methods is passed on. The trainings are not only intended to provide ecological content on cultivation and maintenance of coffee plants, but also to give participants the skills they need to successfully run a farm. Against this background, important aspects such as occupational safety and security as well as management skills are also addressed. The trainings often lead to increases in productivity and quality - an important motivational factor for the students. As part of the project, the parents provide the young people with a part of their farm where they can initially apply their knowledge - ideally, they can take it over in the future and thus secure the availability of coffee in Tanzania.


Fruit project

Between October 2020 and September 2022, an additional project was created as part of the Coffee Clubs. In total, we have planted over 30,000 coffee plants and over 8,400 fruit trees with City Coffee during this period - from avocados to bananas to mangoes and papayas. Of the fruit trees, almost 5,000 were grown at the seven schools, the other part was taken home by a total of 347 participants of the Coffee Clubs. On the one hand, this improves the nutritional situation both in the schools and at the families' homes, and on the other hand, the farmers' families have an additional source of income through possible sales. The diversification of the fields also has a positive impact on soil health.


Successes

In total, Coffee Clubs have been established in seven Tanzanian schools, with a total of 908 students participating. Of these, 240 are graduates, the remaining 668 are current students. Even after graduation, the positive influence of the Coffee Clubs is evident - 65% of the graduates are still involved in coffee cultivation.

The schools have provided land for the Coffee Clubs, allowing students to gain experience and apply the learned knowledge at home afterwards. Win-win: This allows the school to generate additional income, which in turn benefits the schools and students.

The Coffee Clubs have great potential: The students learn the proper handling of the plants and fertilizers and bring their knowledge home, where their parents in turn learn from their children. Indirectly, the whole family benefits.

The Coffee Clubs concept is attracting interest and we are in regular exchange with local institutions and organizations on the topic.


What we learn from this program

Involving women in the project is a challenge. Of the graduates, 45% are women and 55% are men. In the future, we want to improve gender inclusion and focus even more on integrating and involving all genders. To this end, the Coffee Club trainers will also be trained.

Experience has shown that Coffee Clubs work best at schools where the school management fully supports the topic.

In personal as well as professional partnerships, misunderstandings and a different understanding of the situation can occur. We had originally thought of using the fruit trees as shade trees for the coffee plants and to promote the diversification of the soils. The fruit trees were partly planted on free-standing fields, as this was quicker to implement. We have learned from this to communicate even more clearly with each other and to be more precise in our respective statements.

Duration: November 1, 2022 to January 31, 2028

Project partners: Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) or Neumann Gruppe Vietnam Limited, Sustainable Solution Switzerland (DSS), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Location: Central Highlands, Vietnam

Project goals: Income increase, environmental protection, measures against climate change

Identified challenges: Poverty, excessive use of agrochemicals, drought and water scarcity, impacts of climate change


What we do specifically

Competence trainings for farmers

Against poverty, for climate protection: In cooperation with the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Tchibo is establishing projects in Vietnam to build competencies for local smallholder farmers. A total of 12,000 coffee farms in Vietnam will benefit from the trainings over the entire project period. The overarching goals of the joint project are: to contribute to income increase, to promote the conscious and responsible use of agrochemicals, to reduce harmful emissions and to minimize the water footprint on site. In trainings on topics such as Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), occupational safety, the use of toxic agrochemicals and possible alternatives, knowledge about fertilizers, Good Farming, cost management or accounting, the farmers learn how to make coffee cultivation as ecological and profitable as possible.


Theory meets practice

The trainings are designed in such a way that knowledge is imparted both with theoretical teaching materials and in the form of practical modules. For this purpose, there are a total of 60 model farms where optimal conditions for coffee cultivation are illustrated. In addition, interaction and learning with and from each other play an important role. The farmers are consciously strongly involved in the trainings. This way, their experiences and feedback also flow into the cooperation and a relationship of trust between the participants and the trainers is established. The trainings are intended for the whole family and take place at times of the day when as many people as possible can benefit and especially women and young people can participate.


Production of biochar for better soils

In a feasibility study in cooperation with the consulting company dss+, Tchibo is testing the use of pyrolysis ovens on coffee farms. Since January 2022 and until December 2024, the machines are being provided on 20 test farms. With the ovens, the farmers can produce their own biochar from organic waste such as coffee shells and tree cuttings. This can then be mixed into the soil as a carrier for fertilizers or compost and contributes significantly to soil improvement.