- Heilyn Arauz doubled the productivity of her coffee plantation by applying better pest and disease control practices, pruning and selective harvesting.
Heilyn Arauz, originally from El Coyolar, Matagalpa, Nicaragua, began growing coffee at the age of 20, following in the footsteps of her father, who dedicated his life to this crop. For Heilyn, coffee is much more than a business; it is a family inheritance that represents a treasure, a means to improve the life of her family.
However, despite her passion for coffee, Heilyn faced several challenges, such as climate change and pest attacks that threatened the productivity of her farm. She knew that without proper preparation, her crops would be vulnerable and she would have economic losses.
In 2022, she decided to join the MOCCA program, which in this area of the country works in partnership with Aldea Global. In the training, Heilyn learned valuable techniques such as selective harvesting, pruning, making organic fertilizers, and integrated pest and disease control. One of the lessons that interested him the most was the use of grafts with the topworking technique, as it is a novel practice that allows grafting in coffee without stopping production.
MOCCA is a 7-year initiative funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Food for Progress Program, which seeks to improve agricultural productivity and expand trade in agricultural products. The MOCCA project is being executed by a consortium led by TechnoServe. Lutheran World Relief leads the cocoa activities.
Thanks to these good practices, Heilyn doubled her productivity, going from 40 to 80 quintals of coffee on 1.5 acres of land. This increase not only gave her greater profits, but also improved her family’s quality of life. With the income she earned, she was able to renovate the facilities in her house, guarantee better health and nutrition for her children, and invest in her coffee plantation.
Heilyn is very proud to be a female coffee producer. With a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old boy, Heilyn dreams that her children will follow in her footsteps, learn, and prepare for the future. “I want my daughter to be a professional woman who fights for her dreams,” she concludes.
