News
Galapagos Organic Rescue Proyecto Starts January, Volunteer Opportunities
CRACYP News, December
2011
CRACYP's conservation and development project for the Galapagos
Islands, Galapagos Organic Rescue, will start on the island of San
Cristóbal in January 2012. Opportunities are available for
conservation volunteers in the Galapagos Islands, to help eradicate
invasive introduced plant species and replant native plant species.
City of Loja Interested
in Constructing Solar Cycle Route
CRACYP News, November
2011
The mayor and city council of Loja, Ecuador's most ecological city, are
analysing the possibility of constructing a Solar
Cycle Route in Loja. This innovative sustainable
transporte system designed by CRACYP would be an 11km construction to
resolve transport problems for 23 educational establishments and would
cross the whole of the city of Loja.
CADO Associates Particpate in
Montubio March
CADO News, November
2011
Three busloads of CADO associates traveled to Guayaquil to participate
in a solidarity march with Pueblo Montubio. The Pueblo Montubio is an
organization that represents the interests of farmers in the Costa
region of Ecuador. The march was both a demonstration of
unity and a
celebration of Montubio culture.
Rural Community
Enthusiastic about Farmstay Tourism
CRACYP News, November
2011
CRACYP’s farm tourism project, Eco-friendly Farmstays, had a
community meeting in the village of Jilimbí. The
community is
embracing the idea of having an ecotourism program that shares their
way of life with visitors from around the world.
Jilimbí will break ground for the construction
of cabañas in the new year.
The Body Shop Renews Commitment
to Buy Organic Alcohol
CADO News, October
2011
CADO’s largest client, The Body Shop, renewed their
commitment to buy between eight and ten shipping containers of alcohol
in 2012. Their representative, Christina Archer, spent a week
visiting CADO associates, staff and subcontractors to assure the
stability and quality of the supply chain. Christina praised
the visible progress that CADO has made in combating contracted child
labor in the region.
Book Club Project Praised
CRACYP News, October
2011
The volunteer coordinator presented the ongoing Book Club project
to the Council on Children’s Affairs of the nearby
cantón of Pangua and to The Body Shop
representative. Both were excited about the
project, as it is unique in the area. The Council on
Children’s Affairs hopes to partner with CRACYP to replicate
the Club’s model. CRACYP plans to apply for a grant
from The Body Shop Foundation in order to make this feasible.
Fair Trade Case
Study Features CADO
CADO News, October
2011
2 university students from Guayaquil visited CADO as part of
their bachelor’s thesis. They dedicated 3 days to
interview CADO employees and associates and visit farms. Their thesis
will be on Fair Trade in Ecuador and the information they
gathered on CADO will be used as a case study. CRACYP is very
pleased that CADO is becoming better known and is regarded as an
important example of Fair Trade in this country.
CADO Hosts the Prefect of
Bolívar
CADO News, October
2011
CADO hosted several government officials at a fiesta en
Jilimbí, including Carlos Chavez, the prefect of
Bolívar. The event was held to thank the
provincial government of Bolívar and the local government of
San Luis de Pambil for their recent combined donation of oak
barrels for maturing organic rum and stainless steel distillation tanks
for producing organic alcohol.
Ecotourism Project is
Progressing
Well
CRACYP News, September
2011
CRACYP’s eco-tourism project in Jilimbí is moving
forward successfully. We have confirmed our first guests who will spend
Christmas experiencing what life is like for families in
Jilimbí, learning about organic agriculture first hand, and
seeing the beautiful wildlife that is still present in local forests.
A new intern from Norway will soon arrive to advise on
environmental governance, so as to structure the project to facilitate
equitable economic growth for the community without damaging the
surrounding environment.
Volunteers Arrive in
Bolívar Province
CRACYP News, September
2011
Five volunteers from Global Routes arrived in Bolívar to
teach English in local elementary schools for ten weeks.
CRACYP’s volunteer coordinator is working with the
leader of the group to foster collaboration between the two
projects. CRACYP hopes to partner with Global Routes in
educational programs on nutrition, ecology, and environmental awareness.
Root Capital Visits CADO
CADO News, September
2011
Root Capital lends operating capital to CADO
to support fair trade, organic alcohol exports. Root Capital
visited CADO, with its dynamic lady president, as part of a gender-inclusion visit to Ecuador
by leading female investors to support enterprising and productive
projects which allow women to reclaim their right to economic
self-sufficiency.
Photography Volunteer Documents
Local Fauna
CRACYP News, September
2011
CRACYP's most recent volunteer has spent four
weeks photographing the animal species present in and around
Jilimbí, an area particularly rich in bird and insect life.
He is also working to identify the species so that his photos
can be
used to train eco-guides as part of the eco-tourism project in the area.
CADO and CRACYP Consulted by
Government on Alcohol Crisis
CADO News, August
2011
In July, dozens of people in Ecuador died from methyl alcohol
poisoning by drinking tainted, inorganic alcohol. The
government froze the sale and distribution of aguardiente
(homemade cane alcohol) until regulations can be enacted to prevent
another such tragedy. CRACYP's organic alcohol project, CADO,
is being upheld as a model of good business practices, and the
government has asked director Carlos Cabrera to work with them to
develop a system of regulations for alcohol, based on his very
successful experience with CADO.
Oak Barrels &
Distillation Equipment from Bolivar Province
CADO News, August
2011
The government of Bolivar Province very kindly donated 56 oak
barrels that CADO
will use to mature organic, Fair Trade rum. They also
donated some new stainless steel tanks for the distillation of
sugarcane alcohol by CADO associates; these are a much safer
replacement for older tanks that frequently rust and melt, spilling
boiling liquid and causing a significant health hazard for the farmers.
CADO Farmers Protest Against
Destructive Strip Mining
CADO News, August
2011
The company Curimining SA plans to use destructive mountain-top removal
to extract gold from the mountains near San Luis de Pambil,
Bolivar. This tract of forest in one of the world's
most
biodiverse and fragile habitats is home to threatened animal species
such as agoutis and sloths. CADO
associates participated in a protest
against the proposed mine carrying signs with pro-environmental
slogans; TV station TeleAmazonas filmed the protest and
interviewed several CADO members.
Fair World Project Features CADO
CADO News, July
2011
The Fair World Project website featured CADO in their blog "Adventures
in Organic Fair Trade Alcohol". Many thanks to Ryan
for his informative report and photos of CADO's work and success in
exporting organic, fairly-traded, community-produced alcohol to
internationally-recognised buyers.
IMO Fair for Life Inspections for
CADO
CADO News, June
2011
Robert Stock of IMO Fair for Life spent five days evaluating CADO,
our organic sugarcane farming consortium, for socially responsible
practices such as prevention of child labor, worker safety, democratic
decision-making, and transparent financial processes.
Although
CADO is still waiting on the official results of the inspection, Robert
had positive things to say about CADO’s socially responsible
practices.
Development of Ecotourism in
Jilimbí Begins
CRACYP News, June
2011
CRACYP is beginning the development of an eco-tourism project in the
village of Jilimbí. A Bolivian volunteer has begun
working on a business plan for the project. Ecotourism will
bring economic diversification to the community and will allow
adventurous tourists to experience a truly unique farming community and
ecosystem completely off the beaten track.
CADO Prepares for Fair Trade
Certification Inspections
CADO News, May
2011
CADO is preparing for Fair Trade certification inspections.
The fair trade certification (in addition to the organic
certification we already hold for our sugar cane alcohol) will open a
wider market of clients and
generate a higher sale price for the alcohol produced by CADO's member
families. Eleven associates have worked tirelessly to
complete internal reviews, visiting each farm to make sure everyone is
prepared for the upcoming fair trade inspections.
Accepted in Italy: The Product of
68 Communities in One Bottle
CRACYP News, April
2011
The Italian market has accepted, in a chain of fair trade stores,
Ecuador's most collaborative product. CRACYP, together with
groups of farmers, has developed an organic chocolate cream liqueur,
with some fair trade ingredients and others in the process of fair
trade certification. The bottle is presented in a
box made of wood from cultivated forests, sustainably managed
by rural communities. In total, 68 Ecuadorian communities are
involved in the production of each bottle - producers of organic cacao,
cream (in transition to organic status), organic sugar, organic
alchohol (from CADO)
and sustainably-produced wood.
CRACYP Finds New
Coordinator for Volunteers and Interns
CRACYP News, April
2011
CRACYP is delighted to announce that we have finally found a new
coordinator for our volunteer
and internship
program,
and so can restart
the program. The program was popular and successful last year
but had to stop when we lost our coordinator. So far, amongst
other successes, our interns have succeeded, for example, in
establishing industrial control processes for fair trade norms with the
control of IMO Fair for Life.
The Body Shop Showcases
CADO
CADO News, February
2011
The Body Shop have showcased CADO and our organic alcohol on
their website. In fact, the story goes further back than the
article suggests and CADO had been working with Christina's
predecessor, Mark, for several years to get to the stage where The Body
Shop started to buy organic, community-traded alcohol for their
perfumes. But we're delighted that The Body Shop are sharing
our story with a wider audience!
Latest news:
The Body Shop Renews Commitment to Buy; Book Club Praised; Ecotourism
Progressing Well; Fair trade inspections; ecotourism development;
organic chocolate cream
liqueur; solar cycle route; fair trade cacao (chocolate); world water
day; organic sugar cane
CRACYP news about the environment, sustainable
development & reforestation in rural communities
in Ecuador. 'Green Progress': social and economic development
which
protects the environment
