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Adriana Escobedo (’07, Costa Rica) completed her
Master’s degree in Environmental Socio-Economics
from CATIE last year and today is a consultant helping
to strengthen the entrepreneurial capabilities of
small-scale farming cooperatives throughout Central
America.
Amongmany organizations, she is working with three
organic farming cooperatives in theTalamanca region
of Costa Rica, helping them market their products,
providing training in accounting and financial
management, and analyzing the value chain, so
that they will be able to improve their products
and increase their market position.
Of her experience inHuatusco, she comments, “I have
always
been
interested
in
promoting
entrepreneurship, but my internship really helped
me understand the needs of small farmers.”
Adriana’s studies at EARTH were made possible
thanks to a partial scholarship provided by Mr.
Abraham Tanus of Texas, U.S.
Adriana Escobedo delivers a workshop to members of the Huatusco Union during her internship in 2006.
.
One of the first cooperatives invited to join
PorFin was the Huatusco Union. Founded in 1982,
the Regional Union of Small-Scale Coffee
Producers of the Huatusco Region in Veracruz,
Mexico, represents more than 2,000 small coffee
farmers in this expansive mountainous region,
enabling its members to participate in a market
where normally only large-scale producers can
compete. The cooperative negotiates fair prices
for their coffee, as well as volume discounts for
agricultural supplies and has invested in education
and health programs for its members and their
families. In 1998, in an effort to provide more
stability to its members, the organization decided
to focus on specialty markets, securing fair trade
and organic certifications.
Ruben Zuñiga Peralta, President of the Huatusco
Union, explains, “For us, the PorFin project was
fundamental; it gave us tools and materials to
foster a culture of fiscal responsibility and resource
management for the organization as a whole, and
in particular for our coffee producing members.”
Between 2006 and 2009, the Huatusco Union
hosted four EARTH interns, who provided training
and workshops in accounting, finance and
agricultural best practices to their members.
Adriana Escobedo (’07, Costa Rica) was the first
intern to work with Huatusco.
“Nobody could have predicted the impact she
would have; she was just one person in a huge
region and she wasn’t fromMexico. But she made
a really significant contribution,” remarks Karla
Molina.
In addition to imparting PorFin training workshops,
Adriana developed a brand and logo for marketing
the cooperative’s cofee and implemented asuccessful
cervical cancer prevention campaign for the women
in this community.
ADRIANA ESCOBEDO (’07)