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PORTFOLIO BY SECTOR
Rainforest Exquisite Products, S.A. (REPSA) is a Bolivian company that produces roasted organic shade-grown coffee, green coffee beans, dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, and Brazil nuts. Its primary customer is Seattle's Best Coffee, which purchases REPSA’s product because of its quality and organic certification. REPSA itself acts as a fair trade broker to purchase coffee from cooperatives. This coffee is certified locally by a Latin American certification agency, Bio Latina. Only 20 years ago, most commercial coffee was grown under the shade of the existing forest canopy. In an effort to boost exports and increase income, however, many nations began growing coffee in full sun on monoculture plantations—thus triggering massive deforestation and the decline of migratory birds and other species throughout the humid tropics. By contrast, REPSA's cooperatives grow their coffee and cocoa in the traditional manner, as understory trees in the rainforest. This method preserves animal habitats, protects the soil from erosion and reduces the need for fertilizers and herbicides. In addition, the coffee varieties grown are mostly native, thriving in the rich and diverse forest environment. Indigenous peoples living in the Amazon, especially near Bolivia’s Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, provide the labor for collecting nuts and processing cocoa for REPSA products. The park, with its five distinct ecosystems and incredible variety of wildlife, is the site of a major conservation effort by The Nature Conservancy and local conservation organizations. It is also home to 1,200 people living in five villages. REPSA’s business supports both the livelihoods of these communities and ongoing conservation work at the park. REPSA won the 2004 Best New Product - Food category for Chocofé, its chocolate-covered coffee beans, at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's 16th Annual Conference & Exhibition held in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 23-26, 2004. EcoEnterprises Fund co-financed this investment with ProCredito, a local Bolivian financier, through its Rural Development Program. Investing in companies. Investing in communities. Investing in conservation.
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