Graduate-led coffee company named Exporter of the Year in Honduras
This month, COHONDUCAFÉ (Compañía Hondureña del Café S.A. de C.V.) received the Premio Presidencial Orquídea Empresarial 2017 (Presidential Enterprise Award 2017) as the top coffee exporter.
COHONDUCAFÉ is a Central American company, dedicated to the manufacture and export of high-quality coffee, advancing agricultural productivity and quality standards. Its social mission arm, the COHONDUCAFÉ Foundation, supports economic growth, social responsibility and environmental concern.
EARTH graduates were part of the company’s formation and vision building and continue leading it today. They include:
- Terence Fuschich (‘98, Honduras), company founder and CEO and president of its foundation
- Edgar Joel Castro (‘03, Honduras), program and projects coordinator for the foundation
- Tony Arévalo (‘11, Honduras), departmental manager
- Nadia Castillo (‘13, Honduras), departmental manager
- Daniela Reyes (‘13, Honduras), departmental manager
- Arnulfo Alvarado (‘15, Honduras), intern
- Cipriano Martínez (‘15, Panamá), intern
- Dolores Salazar (‘16, Honduras), intern
- Norman Reyes (‘16, Honduras), intern
Through its coffee production and sister foundation, COHONDUCAFÉ addresses common challenges such as low farm productivity, inconsistent product quality and lack of access to job training, technical assistance, financing, marketing and more. On top of that, the company has supported the construction and improvement of schools, donated school supplies to students and instruction materials to teachers, funded medical services, organized projects around basic sanitation (building toilets, improving gray-water treatment and purifying drinking water), strengthened food security through the construction of family food gardens, and trained women and young people in how to mount a small business.
Terence Fuschich (left) receiving the award from Jose Orlando Hernández, president of Honduras.
“It’s an honor for us to receive this prestigious recognition. We accept it humbly and on behalf of everyone at COHONDUCAFÉ,” Fuschich said, in an interview with National Honduran Television. “Thanks to Minister Arnaldo Castillo and the Ministry of Economic Development, agriculture has been supported – through essential incentives for rural development, especially the Firsa fund, which offers financing to small producers.”
About the award:
The Premio Presidencial Orquídea Empresarial seeks to recognize great business efforts that stimulate the Honduran economy. The award is sponsored by the Honduran Ministry of Economic Development (ProHonduras), promoted by Marca Honduras and presented by the president of Honduras.
To learn more about the event, click here.
