Project

Coffee, Cocoa and Climate Change Project

  2020-2023

In Nicaragua, in partnership with GIZ, this programme was designed to improve the productivity of smallholder farms. The project saw 100,000 coffee and cocoa trees planted, and 320+ producers were trained in good agricultural practices.

Project

MOCCA

  2020-2023

In Peru, MOCCA (Maximising Opportunities in Coffee and Cocoa in the Americas) supports >18,000 coffee and cocoa producers in the Amazonas, Cajamarca, San Martín and Central Jungle regions to increase their productivity. ECOM Peru and SMS are now looking to expand our activities to new regions of Peru.

Project

Smallholder Farmer Livelihoods

2023-Present

Through the Uganda Smallholder Farmer Livelihoods Initiative, we work with USAID to increase coffee and sesame exports from Uganda. By the end of 2023, 10,836 farmers (6,811 men, 4,025 women) were onboarded to the export market.

Project

VSLAs

2023

In Ghana, we promote the use of VSLAs (Village Savings and Loans Associations) in cocoa-growing communities. As of September 2023, 52 VSLAs had been set up in 36 communities with 1,283 women. In total, the VSLAs have collected $66,049.82 in savings to date (~$1,270 per VSLA) and disbursed $42,284.39 in loans for their members ($813 per VSLA).

Project

Financing growth

2023

In Vietnam, our SMS team partnered with IDH Farmfit Fund to provide access to inputs through affordable finance. The program successfully reached 493 coffee farmers in 2023. Our aim is to expand the scheme into a self-sufficient business, supporting more farmers to develop sustainable businesses.

Project

Market systems for cocoa farmers' income

2020-2023

In Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, we worked with BMZ and develoPPP to improve and diversify farming households’ incomes. We have supported 5,000 farmers by diversifying crops and supporting the marketing of their products.

Project

ECOM Foundation's Satellite School

2022-Present

In El Salvador, the ECOM Foundation supports education for children and adults in farming communities. The San Andres School in Apaneca, for instance, opened in 2022 with 360 students. By 2023, it grew to 418 and had a 95% attendance rate.

Project

Helping rebuild Mexico’s cocoa industry

2014

In Mexico, we provided over 1,000 producers with cocoa varieties that offer higher resistance to disease, supporting increased production. We also assist producers in cultivating these varieties, strengthening both their earnings and the future of Mexican cocoa.

Project

Gender equity in cocoa

2020-2023

ECOM Ghana partnered with USAID to promote gender equality in the cocoa value chain. Together, we piloted gender mainstreaming across our operations, training staff and cocoa communities on inclusive farming. While this programme is currently specific to Ghana, we hope to adapt it in our other origins.

Project

Bosques del Mañana

  2021

In Nicaragua, ECOM and Nestlé launched the Bosques del Mañana (Forests of Tomorrow) project, planting 2,600,315 trees. The project's impact has been felt in various regions, from Wiwilí to Nueva Guinea, generating environmental benefits and fostering community engagement.

Project

The Akawa Project

2016-Present

In Burundi, we launched the Akawa project to help farmers reach financial autonomy beyond coffee production. With >11,000 farmers involved, the project includes training Leader Farmers in Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and gender empowerment initiatives. 

Project

Ethiopia's coffee supply chain

2022-2024

In Ethiopia, one of the world’s largest coffee-producing countries, ECOM and GIZ are working to strengthen human rights and sustainability. So far, 200 farmers in Jimma have adopted the ECOM SMS Code, while 125 farmers in Illubabor have been trained in good agricultural practices and business management. 

Project

Alianza de Sueños

2022-Present

In Costa Rica, we work with Nespresso on Alianza de Sueños (Dream Alliance) to prevent child labour during coffee harvests. The 1st Casa de Alegria (House of Joy) opened in 2022 with 30 children, growing to 3 Casas supporting 120 children and their families in 2023, with similar schemes in Nicaragua and Guatemala. 

Project

Growing the ‘Fruits of Restitution’

In Colombia, we partner with the Land Restitution Unit (URT) to support farmers displaced by conflict, helping them to grow and market high-quality specialty beans. URT describes the coffee from these families as the ‘Frutas de Restitucion’ (the ‘Fruits of Restitution’).

Project

Building climate resilience

In Vietnam, we are improving the climate resilience of the Robusta supply chain in 2 main producing provinces by implementing soil conservation practices such as providing organic fertilisers, soil amendments, and cover crops. To date, 4,000 farms have also been provided with soil analysis.

Project

Applying regenerative agriculture

In Brazil, our Solo Verde project supports the transition towards more regenerative soil management practices by distributing cover crops to producers. The project is now aiming to triple its area and reach >3,000 hectares of coffee plantation.

Project

regenagri®

In Brazil, the coffee growers we partner with have committed to regenagri®, an international regenerative agriculture programme. This way of farming improves soil fertility, stores atmospheric CO2, and improves water and energy management. The initiative aids in regenerating farmland, securing a sustainable future for agriculture.

Project

Regenerative cotton

2022-Present

In Mexico, our regenerative cotton program, with 46 producers across 14,000 hectares, produced 27,000 bales in 2023, earning the country's 1st regenerative agriculture certification. As part of our commitment to growers, we're extending our services across Mexico.

Project

Evaluating biodiversity risks

In Ecuador, ECOM worked with Nature-based Insights (NbI) and Reckitt to assess biodiversity and land risk for sustainable cocoa production. NbI uses geospatial data from 16 layers to rank areas by risk, helping us identify what land to farm and what land should be conserved.

Project

Keeping bees for better coffee

2023

In Brazil, our SMS Bee Project with Nespresso encourages coffee farmers to become beekeepers, as bees are key in maintaining biodiversity while enhancing coffee production. Starting with 5 growers in Minas Gerais and the Cerrado, the project grew to 11 producers in 2023, each averaging 2,000 kilos of honey annually.

Project

100 million trees

2016-2025

In Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, ECOM and Starbucks launched the One Bag, One Tree program, donating a coffee plant for every bag of coffee sold to help renovate coffee farms. To date, >28.75 million plants were delivered in Mexico, with around 4.1 million supplied to 8,200 producers annually. The initiative now targets 100 million replacement trees by 2025.

Project

Weeding out problem plants

2023

In China's Simao District, 36 coffee farmers received training in Integrated Weed Management, organised by Pu’er Tianchen Coffee Ltd and Rainforest Alliance. The training covered weed-soil interactions, ecological impacts of herbicides, and sustainable weed control methods in coffee farming.

Project

Organic solutions for soil management

In Nicaragua, our SMS team developed 2 organic soil enhancers from coffee processing by-products: SMS compost and SMS Biol. Both innovations are being registered for commercial use, with plans to scale compost production to process all coffee pulp produced.

Project

Climate-resilient coffee

In Nicaragua, our Agritech lab partners with CIRAD to develop coffee varieties better adapted to climate change, showing 30–50% higher productivity than conventional types. The ECOM SMS team also runs a 3 million-capacity nursery using pioneering technologies to grow climate-resilient plants with average yields of 2–3 tonnes per hectare.

Project

Regenerating cocoa farms

2023

In Nigeria, where many cocoa trees are over 50 years old and unproductive, ECOM has established a central nursery to provide farmers with new seedlings. In early 2023, over 100,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings were planted and 95,500 distributed, while a similar nursery in Mexico produces 500,000 cocoa and agroforestry trees each year.

Project

Converting waste into a 'carbon sponge'

In Brazil, ECOM and NetZero have built a biochar factory to turn waste into a ‘carbon sponge’, boosting coffee productivity, cutting fertiliser use, and storing carbon. With an annual capacity of over 4,000 tons, it can treat 1,200 hectares of farmland.

Project

Removing plastic from our nurseries

2019-2023

In Guatemala, our partnership with Starbucks is replacing plastic polybags with paper-based BioPegon® pots in nurseries. From 2019-2023, adoption rose from 1% to 66%– over 4.7 million trees grown withut plastic bags– with over 1/3 of seedlings now produced this way, enabling us to completely phase out polybags locally.

Project

Reducing water in coffee processing

2021-2023

In Colombia, through our Coffee Resource Positive project with Starbucks, we are introducing innovative water management practices. Water-efficient wet mills with zero wastewater use have been installed in 121 households, cutting water consumption in the coffee-washing process by 77%.

Project

Assessing the impact of treated coffee wastewater

2019-2023

In the US, we partnered with Notre Dame University in Indiana to research groundwater simulations of our wet mills to assess wastewater impacts on river quality, and to explore new treatment strategies and modelling for small and artisanal mills.

Project

Access to clean drinking water

2016-Present

In Burundi, our Akawa Project is protecting and sanitising natural water sources. After assessing 36 sites nationwide, 20 water sources have been secured across nine hills and two washing stations, now providing 1,175 households with clean, safe water– with more to follow.

Project

Future proofing supply chains

2023-Present

In Nigeria and Vietnam, ECOM has partnered with BanQu, a blockchain traceability platform that captures real-time, verifiable data even from remote farms.We will continue to roll out the programme in more of our cocoa and coffee-producing origins in 2025.

Project

Climate-smart cotton production

2023

In the US, our traceable, climate-friendly cotton project– backed by a US$30m USDA grant– supported 36 farmers in 2023 to produce nearly 15,000 bales despite drought. In 2024, enrolment grew to 150+ farmers across Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia.

Project

ECOM CASC

2023

In Mexico, ECOM’s Customer Care and Monitoring Centre (CASC) provides coffee farmers with remote access to technical support, seed and plant sales, market prices, and training opportunities. Over 1,200 growers now use CASC, which in 2023 logged 62,000+ interactions and launched a 24/7 WhatsApp smart chat for specialised coffee guidance.