IAF Blog

The Inter-American Foundation’s grantee partners often learn as much from each other as they learn from an outside source. Such has been the case of the Talamanca-Caribbean Biological Corridor Association (ACBTC), a network of 17 grassroots organizations along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast that work on community development, small-scale agricultural production, and conservation projects aimed at protecting and sustainably managing natural resources. One project aims to strengthen the technical and administrative capacity of a newly formed organization of Afro-descendant cacao farmers in order to diversify output, generate more income, and open new market opportunities.  Many cacao farms were abandoned in the 1980s because of monilia, a fungus that causes crop diseases, and in the 1990s due to the growth of tourism in the area.

The cacao farmers recently took a 12-hour trip across the Talamanca Mountains to the community of Biolley near the Parque Internacional La Amistad [International Friendship Park] in order to meet with two other organizations with successful track records: the Biolley Women’s Association (ASOMOBI) and the La Amistad Farmers’ Association (ASOPROLA).  The IAF provided support for the meeting because the exchange corresponded to strengthening capacity in areas that the cacao farmers themselves identified as necessary for their work.

Hearing about the struggles and triumphs of the women members of ASOMOBI indeed gave the farmers new hope and energy by strengthening their knowledge of the principles and values they’ll need to be successful in terms of operations, organization, adding value to production, and commerce.  From ASOPROLA they learned about diversifying production options and organizing marketing processes for various products, with a focus on different domestic markets and exports with organic and fair trade certifications, which can substantially increase farmers’ income. As the meeting with ASOPROLA made clear, producers in many cases need to reinvent themselves in order to avoid stagnation and adapt to changing demand. 

While the basic objective of the exchanges was to help the cacao farmers boost productivity, the participants also valued some of the broader lessons learned, such as establishing transparency among partners and in organizational processes, and working cooperatively for the common good. In addition, the exchanges pointed to the importance of developing the resilience and sense of belonging needed to achieve productive objectives, improve living conditions, and pick oneself up as many times as necessary to keep moving forward.

The cacao farmers headed home with a sense of solidarity: they saw that they are not the only ones trying to achieve a better future for their families and communities, and that there are others like them who are proving that it is possible, though not easy. Unknown to one another until recently, the ACBTC and the organizations its members visited may be separated by mountains, but they are united more than ever by a shared sense of purpose.