MILAN – In line with their commitment to coffee communities in Nicaragua and Honduras and in response to the devastating impact of hurricanes ETA and Iota, Mercon Coffee Group through Seeds for Progress Foundation created a Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund for the rehabilitation of roads in 11 communities in Nicaragua and Honduras. Through this initiative, more than U$178,000 dollars were raised to contribute to the most urgent needs of these coffee growing regions.
These funds were raised thanks to the alliance between Mercon Coffee Group, its employees, roasters, and partners, and have been executed through Seeds for Progress Foundation. The repair of affected roads has directly benefited more than 20,000 people in Nicaragua and Honduras.
“The devastation caused by these hurricanes extended to severe damage to infrastructure and roads, which disabled access to basic supplies, entry of people, and output of product. For this reason, we decided to concentrate our efforts on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads to guarantee the well-being of coffee communities, as part of our purpose to build a better coffee world,” said J. Antonio Baltodano, Chairman of Mercon Coffee Group.
Some of the main affected areas in Nicaragua were Wiwili and San Jose de Bocay in Jinotega, as well as Murra in Nueva Segovia, regions where communities such as Maleconcito, La Esperanza, Aguas Rojas, Yakalwas, Padernal, Las Cañas-El Barro and Las Cuevas are located —all which have been benefited from this relief fund.
In Honduras, rehabilitation projects have taken place in San Manuel de Colohete, Lempira, which also benefit the communities of Caserío Suntulín, Buenos Aires, San Lucas Cipres and San Isidro.
“At Seeds for Progress Foundation we believe in developing partnerships to support the well-being of communities, which is why we develop initiatives such as the Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund that strengthen our work in coffee-growing communities,” said Rosa Rivas, Director of Seeds for Progress Foundation.
This Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund reaffirms the social commitment that Mercon Coffee Group and Seeds for Progress Foundation have towards improving the quality of life and promote the socioeconomic development of coffee-growing communities in the Central American region.
About Mercon Coffee Group
Mercon Coffee Group is a vertically integrated global green coffee supplier with expertise that spans the entire supply chain, from farming and production to sourcing and sales, logistics, and risk management. It has 7 decades of experience and is present on three continents. Its operation in Nicaragua is represented by CISA Exportadora, a leading export company in the country.
About Seeds for Progress Foundation
Seeds for Progress Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on providing quality education in coffee-growing communities in Nicaragua and Guatemala. In 2020, it benefited over 6,000 students and 340 teachers in 28 schools in Nicaragua and Guatemala with a total investment of 1.65 million dollars. Additionally, it implemented 5 education programs that contribute to the different levels of student learning. All programs executed by the foundation are accompanied by an infrastructure and technology component to offer quality education with innovative methodologies.
