Sharing Knowledge: Coffee Kids' Partners Meet on Microcredit
Posted by April Maibauer on Mon, Mar 23, 2009
By Kyle Freund, Communication Manager at Coffee Kids
Coffee Kids has been helping coffee-farming families improve their quality of life for over 20 years. Thanks to the help of donors like Coffee Masters, Inc., we support locally-based efforts in microcredit and economic diversification, education, health awareness, and food security in five coffee producing countries.
Given the dependence on coffee for income in many countries, Coffee Kids programs provide alternatives that provide families with more consistent income and services so they can continue farming coffee without being dependent on it.
One of the most important aspects of our work is promoting exchanges between our partners in coffee-growing communities so they can share solutions to similar problems.
In February, Coffee Kids staff traveled to San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala, with representatives from Self-Managed Development (AUGE), a Coffee Kids partner in Veracruz, Mexico.
AUGE has extensive experience in microlending and savings programs and has been working with Coffee Kids since 1995. They have organized over 3,000 women into small savings groups that have collectively saved over $700,000, which is used for small loans to members.
Coffee Kids and AUGE visited Chajul to work with our partner, the Association of Women United for Life (ACMUV). They recently began a microcredit and savings effort for the women they serve. AUGE was brought in to share what they had learned over the years.
ACMUV provides 85 women with access to credit in order to start their own small business and generate income for their families. The visit from AUGE helped this group focus their efforts and learn the importance of organizing.
To see more photos of the exchange, please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/coffeekids/sets/72157615032336160/