The ¡Tierra! Project In 2004 Lavazza, with the technical support of Volcafè, one of the world’s leading green coffee traders, launched the ¡Tierra! project in support of three coffee-growing communities in Honduras, Peru and Colombia.
The project is based on the conviction that social development and economic growth should not counter each other and respect for the environment and the social and cultural dynamics in each country is essential. This is to ensure that growth goes hand in hand with the protection of natural resources.
The objective is to allow small-scale producers to enhance the quality of their coffee in order to make them more competitive on the market, while also improving their standard of living — all this is done while safeguarding the landscape.
The interventions The project has consisted of work aimed at the general improvement of living standards, in order to make coffee production more profitable and environmentally friendly, and to make the local area a better place to live for the locals. This has been done, for example, by building facilities for processing and drying green coffee, and by restoring and building homes, schools and hospitals.
The certification By the end of 2005, the three communities involved in the project had shown that they were able to comply with the nine sustainability principles required by the Rainforest Alliance. These principles are not merely limited to protecting the environment, but are also concerned with the social and working life of the community. In just three years, the work carried out on the ¡Tierra! Project resulted in a crop sustainability certification being awarded.
The product ¡Tierra! is Lavazza’s first project that has led to a product sold by retail chains. The product is also completely traceable, as the coffee used for the blend comes exclusively from the three communities involved in the project. The price of the product reflects its intrinsic quality, with the costs of the project, part of Lavazza's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, being not passed on to the consumer.
The partners The project was developed with valuable advice from Volcafé, one of the world's principal coffee-exporters.
Lavazza also works closely with the Rainforest Alliance, an international non-governmental organisation that actively promotes sustainable tourism and agriculture. The Rainforest Alliance is the largest certifying body in the Global Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) System, and has been the main advocate of environmentally friendly, socially responsible farming in the Tropics for 15 years.
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