From harvesting coffee to harvesting water

Photo by: Adam Keough

Over 40,000 hectares of land around priority water sources in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are being protected and restored through the Catholic Relief Services-led Blue Harvest project.

Launched in 2014, with the support of Keurig Dr Pepper, over 3.000 producers are actively involved in this initiative which delivers results and generates impacts in three areas:

1. Water Resource Restoration

Watersheds that provide drinking water for communities downstream are better managed, primarily by promoting sustainable agricultural practices, improved water governance, increased investments in improving agricultural practices and improving water systems, and increased policy influence around integrated water resource management.

2. Improved Coffee Agroforestry Systems

Coffee farms increase production and diversification, and are more resilient to pests, disease and drought. Water-smart agricultural practices are applied to improve water infiltration.

3. Value Chain Management

Farmers in Blue Harvest areas increase income through value chain enrichments.

Photo by: Anthony Marten

Maren Barbee, from Catholic Relief Services, heavily involved in two CRS water-related projects (Blue Harvest and Azure), sees Blue Harvest as an approach to identify the most effective and impacting interventions to protect water resources. She adds, “the project is working with the Water Benefits Calculator to discover which techniques the project implements are the best in capturing water.” This tool, designed by LimnoTech, quantifies the benefits of applying water-smart agriculture practices on farms in Central America.

In mid-2017, The SAFE team joined Roger Cantarero, the Mayor of Jesús de Otoro, Honduras on a visit to a macro-solar dryer donated to the municipality by Japan in 2017. Throughout the tour, Roger mentioned that this donation allows for more standardized coffee bean drying, and it has also “motivated more farmers in the region to keep, and even start, producing coffee.” Ronny, one of the farmers we visited during this trip, was in awe when he found out that coffee he produced was being consumed in Europe. Walking through his farm, he joked that, although he loves enjoying his coffee at home, he wouldn’t mind taking a sip while seated in a European café.

Aided by improvements to water mills, and the availability of disease-resistant seedlings, farmers are starting to see coffee as a profitable income source. In 2017, the project reported that nearly 1,000 farmers had renovated their farms using these seedlings, as well as over 600 mills having implemented improved water efficiency practices.

Protecting water resources depends on the types of land use. The project has created 3D models of the mountain ranges Blue Harvest is working with. Both producers and CRS staff highlighted that having these visual recreations has helped all actors involved understand how water is “harvested” and how to improve practices on an individual and collective level.

With nearly 75,000 people benefiting downstream from improvements to water systems, investing in water-related coffee projects represents investing in the health and future of upcoming producers, consumers, and communities as a whole.

Photo by: Adam Keough