24 • Climate Change • C&CI May 2012
Twin wins funding for climate change project in Nicaragua
W
orking with smallholders, the project will help coffee farmers to gain the skills and knowledge
they need to adapt to imminent climate change threats. The project will also pro- vide training in price risk management, which is vital for protecting smallholder incomes in a volatile market. Coffee pro- duced by participating smallholders in Nicaragua will be marketed at a premium, based on its climate change and environ- mental credentials, putting environmental concerns at the heart of coffee buying. The project will influence the coffee
sector and the government in Nicaragua in order to create sustainable funding mechanisms and policies that enable smallholders to adapt to climate change. Roundtable meetings will be held with key stakeholders in the Nicaraguan smallhold- er coffee value chain, and what Twin describes as ‘influencing’ and advocacy work will be undertaken. A Smallholder Coffee Adaptation Fund will be estab- lished. The far-reaching project aims to influence the entire Nicaraguan coffee sector – demonstrating and implementing much-needed climate and risk manage- ment practices.
The project will influence the coffee sector and the government in Nicaragua in order to create sustainable funding mechanisms and policies that enable smallholders to adapt to climate change
Every year the BLF gives out millions of
pounds from the UK’s National Lottery to good causes. The money goes to com- munity groups and to projects that improve health, education and the envi- ronment. In March, the BLF announced grants for projects that will support com- munities in need in Rwanda, Nicaragua, South Africa, Uganda, Sierra Leone and India, with six charities sharing over £2.6 million in funding for projects intended to
Twin in the UK is to use money secured through the UK’s Big Lottery Fund (BLF) for a new coffee project in Nicaragua. The ‘Double Espresso’ project will benefit some 10,000-plus house-
holds across 10 producer organisations in the Cafénica network, and help them to address issues posed by climate change
Twin will work with smallholder coffee farmers in Cafénica to help them adapt to climate change
tackle the causes of poverty and depriva- tion and the effects they have on the lives of the most disadvantaged people.
Adapting to a warming planet
Twin received £504,909 to help small- holders in Nicaragua gain the skills and knowledge they need to adapt their pro- duction systems and build resilience to climate change. Twin is a registered charity in the UK and sole owner of Twin Trading, a limited guarantee company which trades directly with producer groups. All profits from the trading com- pany are reinvested in Twin projects on the ground in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Twin has been working with Cafénica,
an association of smallholder coffee pro- ducer organisations in Nicaragua, for five years. "Climate change and its threat to coffee production and farmer livelihoods has emerged as a critical challenge in our work with Cafénica and its members over the last three years," said Veronica Broomes, Head of the Producer Partnership Programme at Twin. "Cafénica assessments with smallhold-
ers suggest that, while many recognise the need to adapt, most lack basic knowledge and expertise about appropri- ate practices and technology and are unable to access finance to support the necessary investments. "These findings are supported by inde-
pendent research on climate change in the region carried out by CATIE and CIAT.
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