Sustainable Growth, Gender Equality, and Innovation
Empowering communities through premium coffee
March 2025
Nicaragua’s lush landscapes, shaped by mountain ranges like the Cordillera Isabelia, provide ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Agriculture accounts for 20% of national GDP and employs 30% of the labor force. Coffee alone generates sales of around USD 500 million annually. However, smallholders - key producers of specialty coffee - face barriers such as limited access to financial services, technology, and international markets.
Connecting Local Communities
Founded in 1992, Family Aldea (formerly Asociación Aldea Global Jinotega) supports smallholder coffee farmers in Nicaragua by providing access to international markets, agricultural training, and financial services. These farmers grow mainly specialty coffee, which achieves higher prices when sold directly to international buyers. Aldea serves over 4,600 members, providing approximately 9,400 tons of coffee annually, and exports 40% to North America, 40% to Europe, and 20% to Asia. Additionally, Aldea provides loans to its members for coffee maintenance, renovation, and planting areas to improve farm productivity. Originally established as an association implementing development projects, Aldea now manages a USD 16 million loan portfolio and USD 46 million in coffee exports. The organization includes two main companies: Aldea Global, which provides microfinance services for smallholder farmers; and Aldea Coffee, which exports specialty coffee. Fundación Aldea provides innovative technical assistance and social programs. This integrated approach ensures comprehensive support for farmers from production to market access, promoting a sustainable agricultural ecosystem.
Sustainability and Community Development
Rosa Olivia Rizo President of Family Aldea
"Since 1992, we have been committed to promoting sustainable agricultural practices and the wellbeing of our farmers. We emphasize regenerative agricultural production, aiming to reduce the use of agrochemicals and to improve the health of rural families."
Aldea promotes sustainable agricultural methods that protect the environment and support biodiversity, including the use of shade trees and the preservation of natural habitats in line with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). By endorsing these practices, Aldea helps ensure the long-term viability of coffee farming in Nicaragua while boosting livelihoods and safeguarding a sustainable future for its members.
Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women Farmers
Aldea is a leader in gender inclusion. Its "Tierra Madre" program sets enhanced standards for supporting women coffee farmers and promoting gender equality. As part of its focus on gender inclusion, Aldea provides women with training, technical assistance, as well as access to credit and financing, while increasing their participation in institutional decision-making processes. Importantly, it helps women coffee producers to register land titles in their own names, enabling them to apply for microloans to improve and expand their farms, while creating a legacy for themselves and their families.
Aracelys Rizo Aldea member
"I started at Aldea 12 years ago. These loans benefited me a lot, because they helped me grow my coffee as well as invest in other profitable farm initiatives."
Lucila Blandón Aldea member
"Aldea was one of the first small farmer organizations to establish an effective gender policy, allowing many of us to move forward. Women have the right to possess their own land and work it. I used to be one of those women who stood behind the door, in the shadows, dependent on my husband’s decisions. But not any longer. Women deserve the same opportunities as men."
Enhancing Productivity for Smallholder Farmers
In 2012, Aldea started working with responsAbility, building a strong partnership that has endured even through challenging periods of political and country risk. Despite a temporary pause in investments during these times, the collaboration focused consistently on fostering impactful innovations for smallholder farmers. The allocation of USD 140,000 from a grant facility managed by responsAbility to support the development of AldeaTech is a good example. Aldea designed this app to increase smallholder farmers’ productivity by providing agricultural and climate information, training, and technical assistance. This integration of AgTech facilitates improving efficiency and sustainability within farming communities.
Sources: Nicaragua (ifad.org) World Coffee Research | Nicaragua www.aglobal.org.ni
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