REBUILDING: AGRICULTURAL AND ECONOMIC REACTIVATION
From Organic to Gourmet: High-Quality Coffee in Los Dajaos, Jarabacoa
Los Dajaos is a farming community located in the central mountain range of the Dominican Republic, about 20 miles east of Pico Duarte, the highest point in the Caribbean.
| USAID and USDA provided grants to 15 NGOs to help over 70,000 small farmers recover livestock and agricultural production. Most of these agricultural rehabilitation projects have emphasized traditional cash crops such as coffee, cocoa and plantains. |
Production of quality specialty coffee, such as organic or bird-friendly coffee, and ecotourism are the lifelines of this region.
Los Dajaos is home to about 215 coffee farmers and their families, whose farms were devastated by Hurricane Georges. The region is also home to the famous Dominican writer, Julia Alvarez, author of "In the Time of the Butterflies." With assistance from USAID, USDA, USGS, the Dominican government, the Specialty Coffee Association of America, and several local non-governmental organizations, production of organic coffee in the region is coming back to pre-hurricane levels. Farmers are organized into cooperatives and work with a local processor to facilitate the sale of their high-quality coffee directly to importers for coffee connoisseurs in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Through a local technical university, USAID has trained and provided technical assistance to micro-entrepreneurs to help them restore their productive capacity and protect their small businesses from future disasters.
To date, more than 6,000 people have benefited from this training, exceeding the target by 3,000 participants.
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The introduction of a specialty coffee industry in the Dominican Republic provides the opportunity for substantial increases in income for these small producers devastated by the hurricane and falling coffee prices.
"We have had two hurricanes -one being Georges, that damaged 60 percent of the coffee, and the other being low prices due to the recent abundant supply of the low quality coffee that is affecting good coffee all around the world. The world market is demanding quality; which is why [USAID] is supporting and promoting quality coffee in the Dominican Republic."
- Frank Astacio, Executive Director of FUNDOCAFE.
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