The Gorilla Coffee Alliance, which is made possible due to the support of the American people through USAID in partnership with Nespresso’s Reviving Origins program and ofi, aims to revitalize coffee production in regions impacted by adversities ranging from climate change to conflict. The Alliance will train farmers in regenerative agriculture and help local entrepreneurs and farmers set up nurseries that provide high-quality coffee and shade-tree seedlings. It will also work with coffee washing stations to enable them to access finance and technical assistance that will improve their capacity to process coffee at quality levels demanded by Nespresso and other specialty markets. Participating washing stations are expected to double their output by 2026.
Taking a holistic approach, the Alliance will also work with local families to improve community resilience, health, and engagement. The initiative will build the entrepreneurial skills of young and Indigenous people, particularly in non-farming households, so they can start environmentally sustainable businesses. It will also train families in communities surrounding the forest to enable them to improve their nutritional status and financial literacy and plant kitchen gardens. Through the Asili platform, the Alliance will improve access to health clinics and clean water points. Lastly, it will help to mobilize existing community governance structures to support conservation and combat poaching, logging, and mining.
Deo Deo Kujirakwinja, WCS DRC Technical Director, said: “Engaging the community surrounding Kahuzi-Biega National Park is critical to protecting Grauer’s gorillas. The Gorilla Coffee Alliance will help ensure a future for these great apes, which are a key part of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s natural heritage.”
About Nestlé Nespresso
Nestlé Nespresso SA is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality portioned coffee. The company works with more than 120,000 farmers in 15 countries through its AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program to embed sustainability practices on farms and the surrounding landscapes. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with the NGO Rainforest Alliance, the program helps to improve the yield and quality of harvests, ensuring a sustainable supply of high-quality coffee and improving livelihoods of farmers and their communities. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nespresso operates in 82 countries and has over 13'900 employees. The global retail network currently operates 809 boutiques in 532 cities. For more information, visit the Nespresso corporate website: www.nestle-nespresso.com.
About olam food ingredients
Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) is a new operating group born out of Olam International. ofi offers sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of Olam’s industry-leading businesses of Cocoa, Coffee, Edible Nuts, Spices and Dairy. ofi has built a unique global value chain presence including its own farms, farm-gate origination, and manufacturing facilities. ofi partners with customers, leveraging its complementary and differentiated portfolio of “on-trend” food products, to co-create solutions that anticipate and meet changing consumer preferences as demand increases for healthier food that’s traceable and sustainable.
ofi’s coffee business is one of the largest green coffee origin exporters in the world. It caters to all tastes and formats through managing coffee estates and through a sourcing network of farmers in South America, Africa, and Asia, supported by extensive processing capacity. Coffee LENS, standing for ‘Livelihoods, Education and Nature at Scale’, is ofi’s sustainability ambition for the future of coffee. It sets formal sustainability targets for 2025 across ofi’s global, direct coffee supply chain, covering 18 origins and a sourcing network of an estimated 424,000 farmers.
About USAID
USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity, demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. President John. F. Kennedy created the United States Agency for International Development by executive order in 1961 to lead the US government’s international development and humanitarian efforts.
Since DRC’s independence in 1960, USAID has partnered with the government and people to improve Congolese citizens’ quality of life, increase the effectiveness of national institutions, and strengthen the foundation for durable peace in eastern DRC. To read more about USAID’s work in the DRC, visit https://www.usaid.gov/democratic-republic-congo.
About TechnoServe
TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A non-profit organization operating in 30 countries, we work with hard-working men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.
Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by an independent charity ratings agency. More information at: Facebook: @TechnoServe | Twitter: @TechnoServe | LinkedIn: @TechnoServe
About the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a U.S. non-profit organization founded in 1895. Its mission is to preserve wildlife and wilderness by understanding critical problems, developing scientific solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, a presence in more than 60 countries, and experience in the creation of more than 150 protected areas around the world, WCS has accumulated the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships needed to ensure that wild places and animal species thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.
About Asili
Asili, a co-creation between ECI, communities in Congo, and USAID, has been operating since 2014; providing essential services like healthcare and drinking water at radical levels of quality and prices the community can afford. Asili is already serving over 120,000 clients in the South Kivu province of the DRC and is in the process of growing its network to serve a total of 500,000 customers. In doing so, the entire social enterprise will become sustained by the revenues from clients and eliminating the need for ongoing philanthropic support. And if this can work in the DRC, it can be a blueprint for other fragile societies across the globe.
