Beekeeping for Coffee Farmers
Changing the world by cultivating food security, one small farm at a time.
Food 4 Farmers is a Vermont-based NGO working with coffee cooperatives and farming families to build food security, economic opportunity, and environmental resiliency. They currently partner with six coffee cooperatives in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua representing more than 8,000 small-scale coffee-farming families.
Food 4 Farmers
Food 4 Farmers’ beekeeping program is improving livelihoods and nutrition for coffee farmers and their communities, while nurturing and restoring vulnerable native ecosystems.
Co-op Partners with beekeeping programs:
CESMACH – Organic coffee cooperative of 660 small-scale farming families in Chiapas, Mexico. 86 beekeepers now produce nearly 70,000 pounds of honey annually.
ACODIHUE – Based in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, the organization’s 3,400 members produce coffee, bananas, honey, and a variety of agricultural products. There are now 130 beekeepers in the co-op.
MAYA IXIL – Indigenous coffee cooperative in northwestern highlands of Guatemala that began a commercial beekeeping venture with Food 4 Farmers in 2015. Their 205 member-families are now adding agroforestry and food gardens to restore native trees and plants, grow fresh food, and provide year-round forage sources for honey bees and native pollinators.
To establish and grow successful beekeeping ventures, support is needed for:
- Bee colonies and wooden hives
- Protective gear, tools, wax, sugar, and other supplies
- Portable honey extractors
- Training in commercial beekeeping techniques
- Business planning, marketing, and branding expertise to develop local, regional, national and international markets
- Resources and support for organic certification
- Beekeeping Community Promoter training for youth in best practices, hive management, and troubleshooting (certificate program)
