Situation – Project KardiaNuts Colombia
- Vichada is a remote and neglected department within Colombia that has a long history of social injustice. It is one of the poorest departments within Colombia.
- It has a large indigenous population living in substandard conditions.
- With the political unrest in Venezuela, the remote and underfinanced area has received a large influx of immigration.
- It is a young rural community that with the peace treaty signed in 2016 has many opportunities through the new agricultural development policy.
Our commitment
Promotion of local capacities
- Development of a sustainable model farm for organic and fair trade production.
- The learnings and technical knowledge will be extended to at least 350 small producers (without and with land) to apply within their farms.
Increase of local added value and economic feasibility
- KardiaNuts has an established a nursery, and it is the process of building a compost facility for affordable and easy access to organic materials, and lastly, a processing facility that will generate benefits back to the farmers and within the community.
- It is the link for local producers to international markets –infrastructure and efficiencies that would not be financially profitable as a sole producer.
- Through pyrolysis stoves, climate financing and more efficient nutrient management
Market focus and long-term trade relations
- Giving know-how for excellent quality to local farmers and supporting them in traceability and certification.
- Carrying out market research, technical advice in business development.
- A connection to markets.
Organisational development / Advocacy
- Improve framework conditions for organic and fair trade in Cashew and Peanuts Colombia.
- Advocate in the Congreso Nacional del Marañon for the further development of roads to connect Vichada to the rest of the country, access to finance, knowledge sharing by bringing in experts within Colombia and outside
- Promote organic and fair trade in the Comité Empresarial del Vichada by discussing opportunities and challenges within the region, as well as work directly with the government to lobby in the interest of development in the area.
Objective & values
- More than 84% of the rural population in Vichada lives in poverty, with 67% of them living in extreme poverty.
- Increase local farmers earnings to greater than $350 USD/month.
- 350 farmers integrated the cashew value chain and 60 jobs generated.
- The establishment of a cashew industry with a local processing facility will have a ripple effect in fighting poverty through the generation of jobs and new industries that surround and go beyond the cashew.
- The headlines in 2019 document children from a local indigenous group eating from the garbage dump in Vichada and this has been exacerbated by the influx of Venezuelan migrants.
- Implementation of agroforestry systems to ensure food security and sustainable incomes for farmers.
- Less than 1% of women in Vichada participate in agricultural production decisions.
- Increase the participation of women in agricultural production decision with 20% of farmer participants women.
- 30% of the jobs generated will be dedicated to women
- Vichada is one of the territories with the lowest financial inclusion in the country. Only 45% of adults have a financial product in Vichada. Microcredit disbursements for every 100.000 adults in Vichada are only 1 194.
- Partner with local banks to provide access to loans for local producers at affordable rates.
- Agriculture is the primary economic activity in the area with no further value-added services in the area.
- Framework conditions that ensure as much added value as possible remains in Colombia
- 100% of production is organic, regenerative and fairtrade
- Implement processing facilities that use renewable energy and leading environmental best practices
- Minimize food waste along the value chain.
- Cattle raising is common in the area due to poor quality soils. To generate feed for the cattle it is common to do slash and burn practices.
- 750 hectares reforested
- More than 11.200 tons of carbon captured
- Positive ecological footprint throughout the entire value chain
- Selling of Gold Standards CO2 certificates through First Climate by producing biochar
- Only 7.7.% of Vichada has been explored, and it is one of the most biodiverse departments in Colombia. It is home to one of the first protected rivers in the world, and it is the habitat for the jaguar and pink dolphin.
- Promote biodiversity through diversified agroforestry
- Protect the Bita river and corridors for local wildlife.
Location
place:
Colombia,
Departamento de Vichada, 20 km from Puerto Carreño
The ‘KardiaNuts’ production area is located 20 km east of Puerto Carreño in the Department of Vichada, an administrative area in eastern Colombia. It borders Venezuela to the north and east. With an area 2.5 times larger than that of Switzerland, Vichada has only 60,000 inhabitants.
Impressions
Detailed description
CASHEW CULTIVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE COLOMBIAN BACKCOUNTRY
Founded in 2018, KardiaNuts is a newly established, for-profit company with the ambitious goal of contributing to the sustainable development of rural areas in Colombia by building a comprehensive value chain for organic cashew. By providing employment opportunities, training and the development of responsible agricultural production methods, KardiaNuts aims to promote local rural development by building a model farm that can be adopted by others to multiply the company’s economic impact throughout the region. KardiaNuts can help strengthen rural Colombia with important social and environmental goals made possible by a financially sustainable business.
Why Colombia and its rural areas? After more than 50 years of internal conflict and almost six years of negotiations, the government signed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s main rebel group, in November 2016. This agreement opened the door to new opportunities in the rural areas of Colombia. KardiaNuts has made it its mission to enable an integrative and sustainable economic development in neglected regions that have suffered a long history of social injustice. The creation of genuine and inclusive rural development is the key to lasting and stable peace in Colombia.
You can learn more about this project in the interview with Ueli Baruffol, the founder of Pakka.
We are looking for supporters for our project. If you are interested, please click on the button and learn more.