AGRICULTURE & SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Environomica promotes the transition towards sustainable agriculture integrated in the natural landscape.
PROJECTS
PEOPLE
COUNTRIES
IN COLOMBIA
We promote the sustainable management of farmland and natural resources in partnership with strong local actors. Our initiatives and projects incentivize the reconversion of pasture land into trees and food forests.
Environomica operates in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the most important ecoregion in the world for the concentration of threatened biodiversity. At our research centers we develop agroforestry models and recover ancestral seed varieties such as native cotton and cocoa.
2019 – 2020
SUPPORT TO CREATING THE ORGANIC COTTON VALUE CHAIN IN COLOMBIA.
In collaboration with our local partner Prosierra and thanks to funding from FAO, the project for recovering ancestral cotton native to the Sierra Nevada has entered the productive phase in 2019 and dissemination phase in 2020. As the first and only organic cotton project in Colombia, the first badge of Colombian organic cotton was processed and sold in early 2020. The project is now focused on consolidating the infrastructure for the organic value chain in Colombia and the exchange of seeds in different parts of the country.
2018
ALLIANCE FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA.
Together with our local partner Prosierra, we launched a pilot project to reclaim a native variety of cotton only found in the wild and farmed by few indigenous people. In 2018, the project has found and reclaimed the native variety from the Sierra Nevada, begun the seed reproduction and explored partnerships with the cotton industry in Colombia. The cotton variety Gossipium barbadienses produces a long, candid fibre highly demanded by the organic cotton industry and high-end shirt makers.
2017
SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND FOREST ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION.
Thanks to the endorsement of the project by WWF Italy and Colombia, Environomica has created the conservation camp La Profunda in the Buritaca River Valley. The station functions as a research and development centre for sustainable farming, forestry and reforestation in the Sierra Nevada. In 2017, Environomica started to research and develop a productive reforestation model combining native forest trees with fruit trees and transition crops. We signed a partnership agreement with the Colombian Ngo Fundación ProSierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
2016
CAPACITY BUILDING IN GOOD AGRONOMIC PRACTICES IN SMALL-SCALE COCOA FARMING.
Through direct support from the Global Heritage Fund – the organization leading the Lost City Archaeological Park – Environomica has trained 50 cocoa producers from the Buritaca Valley on good agronomic practices, build a demonstrative nursery to reproduce cocoa seedlings, designed and disseminated a digital manual on sustainable cocoa management practices. The Sierra Nevada produces high quality native cocoa beans but most of the yield and part of the quality are lost to unpreparedness and climate change.
IN AFRICA
Environomica is active in Mozambique, Kenya and Somalia where we support international organizations serving local and national rural development projects. Our experts provide assistance with designing, implementing, and monitoring development cooperation projects and programs to improve the sustainability of rural communities and of the primary sector.
ENV Consulting is a network of development cooperation experts assisting organizations with the design, implementation and evaluation of their development strategies. Currently, the network includes associates with expertise in rural development, climate change, natural resource management, education, health and more.
2019 – 2020
SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
In 2019 the network has grown in number of associates and projects. Since then, the ENV Consulting team has worked on numerous assignments, including framing strategies for the GIZ on developing the honey value and supply chain in Mozambique, evaluating rural development projects in several countries, and consulting organizations in Kenya, Somalia and Colombia with funding from the European Union, Italian and German Cooperation, IFAD and FAO.
2018
SESAME VALUE-CHAIN ANALYSIS IN MOZAMBIQUE.
ENV Consulting assessed the prospects for processing and commercialising sesame by-products and the feasibility of scaling up an intervention for the economic development of rural Mozambique funded by the European Union and the Italian government. Over the past decade many Mozambican farmers have doubled and tripled the surface cultivated with sesame crops. The study evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the sustainable development of the sesame value chain in Mozambique.
2017
IMPROVING ACCESS TO INCOME AND WATER SUPPLY IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA.
The project targets some of the most arid lands of Kenya heavily affected by ever frequent drought. Through funding from the European Union and the Italian government, CEFA Onlus built water infrastructures and promoted the transition to climate-smart agriculture benefiting over 25,000 people. Our experts have assisted the organization with evaluating progress and formulating recommendations to improve the project effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.
2016
STRENGTHENING THE PRIMARY SECTOR IN CAÍA DISTRICT, MOZAMBIQUE.
In 2016, the group of experts was assigned the task of evaluating the Somica Project – Strengthening the Primary Sector in Caía District, Mozambique. The project was led by the Italian Ngos CAM and CEFA Onlus and funded by the European Union and the Italian government. The project contributed to improve the income of sesame, vegetables and honey producers benefiting over 8,000 people.