A Look at the Rainforest Alliance's Growing Efforts in Africa
Sunday, June 3, 2007
This Article recently arrived at General Store and we would like to share its contents with you.
After nearly two decades of building momentum in Latin America, the Rainforest Alliance is establishing a strong presence in Africa. Last April, following a year of preparations, a group of 678 family coffee farms in the Djimmah region of Ethiopia became the first operation in Africa to be awarded Rainforest Alliance certification. Demand for their beans has already been strong, with Kraft purchasing all of the first year's harvest.
In Cote d'Ivoire, the Rainforest Alliance is working with about 4,000 farmers to encourage sustainable cocoa production. We recently hired an international trade specialist familiar with the region to liaise with local producers and ensure our full understanding of the region's unique social and environmental circumstances.
Last summer, Rainforest Alliance agriculture specialists visited Kenya to discuss certification with coffee exporters, producers, NGOs and government organizations. Highlighting their itinerary was a visit to two coffee communities at the invitation of Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2004 Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. Maathai is Africa's foremost environmental campaigner and is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation.
The Rainforest Alliance's forestry program has also been expanding to Africa, performing assessments in Ghana as well as training 26 people to lead forestry audits in Cameroon. These auditors will be able to evaluate the management of forestry operations and determine whether they qualify for certification.
For the complete article and others detailing the work of RainForest Alliance go to:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/Labels: rainforest-alliance
