The fall & rise of the Angolan Coffee Industry

NexThought Monday: Angolan Robusta – Getting the Best Coffee in the World to Market

By Tara Sabre Collier

Imagine if, after drinking only Fanta soda your entire life, you tasted fresh-squeezed organic orange juice for the first time? You’d discover a world of flavors so bright and a level of freshness, so high it’d completely redefine your standards for juice, and you’d probably never want to look at a soft drink ever again.

That’s basically what happened when I took my first sip of organic Angolan coffee, just roasted, ground, and brewed by the directors of Angola’s National Coffee Institute. My palate was overcome by the whirlwind of this silky yet smoky, round yet sharp, earthy yet luxurious taste experience. In all my years of Folgers, Starbucks, Illy, Bustelo and even Turkish coffee, nothing had ever come close.  It’s like I had been living a lie, thinking I was drinking coffee all these years, but it was just a castoff substitute of the real thing. 

After tasting it, it was no surprise to learn that prior to the war, coffee had been Angola’s leading export. In fact,Angola was once the world’s fourth biggest coffee exporter because its Robusta – so silky yet full-bodied – is one-of-a-kind.  According to the National Coffee Institute, there was so much demand for Angolan Robusta that after the war started, it had to be exported and cultivated abroad since the national coffee industry-entered paralysis.

In 2007, just five years after the war’s conclusion, the industry was effectively re-launched with the first international shipment of Angolan coffee. Today, there are dozens of cooperatives and a few local manufacturers that supply ground and whole coffee beans to domestic and international markets. I had the pleasure of working with some of these coffee cooperatives, under the auspices of Pro-Angro Angola, a USAID-funded project to advance Angola’s agricultural sector. Pro-Agro aims to promote economic growth within a sector that generates over 60 percent of Angola’s livelihoods yet only 10 percent of GDP. Despite the fact that the country is extremely fertile, agricultural productivity is low and underdeveloped and thus, in Luanda, much of the food is imported. This discrepancy, of course, contributes to Angola’s high poverty rates andhence, the rationale for ProAgro’s agricultural development programs.

Returning to the subject of Angolan coffee, I was 100 percent sure after tasting it that it could overtake Brazil and Colombia, and fill all of our cafes, grocery stores and kitchen counters with this amazing lush aroma and spectacular taste. But, in interviewing cooperatives, manufacturers and buyers, I came across several caveats that hinder the Angolan coffee industry and its farmers, and thus, our access to this marvelous product.

• Quality & Quantity:  Most of the existing plants are several decades old, thus reducing output per hectare. The only remedy is planting more hectares or new plants, both of which require capital and due to the production cycle, the investment takes a few years to recoup.  Additionally, many cooperatives lack adequate machinery for shelling and cleaning, which can compromise the quality delivered to manufacturers. Moreover, coffee is significantly more labor intensive than other crops and short-staffed cooperatives end up reducing product quality.
• Transformation: There are insufficient facilities for transforming green coffee beans into finished products and because of their lack of access to machinery, many farmers simply sell the raw material wholesale to walking vendors who then transform these goods in the cities.
• Transport: Most farmers are in rural areas, and Robusta production is concentrated in Gabela, Amboim, and Kwanza Sul. Transport to processing centers can be complicated and costly, which means it is often at the buyers’ expense.
• Export: Export requirements are not always clearly communicated and the paperwork and processing can result in long delays and high costs.  These delays are costs are worthwhile given that international market prices (based on London Commodity Exchange) are almost twice as high as Angolan prices, but most cooperatives cannot bear these prices up front.

Obviously, financing and training are key to resolving much of these caveats but perhaps there are also other solutions that will help the Angolan coffee sector advance.   

• Thus, I am sharing these challenges with you, Nextbillion readers, in hopes of gathering insights and resources from the blog’s global audience. What has worked in your country or sector that can overcome these hurdles in Angola?

Building supply chains in emerging markets

In Africa as in many emerging markets, supply chains are still a huge challenge.  The biggest factor is that local suppliers are often non-existent or under-developed and highly informal.  This contributes to unreliability, which is further compounded by both governance and infrastructure weaknesses.  These factors can only be resolved through political will and significant investments over the next five to ten years.

So the question remains:  how do we build these linkages now?

We are currently tackling this problem by finding serious entrepreneurs with high-potential and a clear vision. Many of our clients include the neighborhood grocers, the small “mom and pop shops” and the local retailers- precisely the local partners and distributors that national and international players need to reach the mass market.  Especially for the fast moving commercial goods (FMCG) segment, local retailers and distributors (at least within GroFin’s portfolio) are unique in almost exclusively catering to middle and low-income consumers.  In catering to such a large population, they almost always ensure consistent and high demand and because international manufacturers need reliable providers, they can potentially access long-term supply contracts.  However, this symbiosis is endangered when the local company lacks the capacity or infrastructure to fulfill their contract.

We try to help address both the capacity and infrastructure gap by providing business training and financing the transport or facilities needed.  Subsequently, FMCG retailers and distributors are among some of our huge success stories. However, the local supply chain benefits don’t end with the FMCG sector, they continue to ripple out from all the companies in our portfolio.

As our portfolio companies expand, their purchasing power affects other local enterprises in their industry.  At intake, the average GroFin portfolio company uses an average of 8 local suppliers.  However, within the average 5-year loan period, their demand increases, creating contracts for an average of 17 local suppliers.  Today, GroFin’s 500+ investees contract nearly 7000 other local enterprises across Africa and the Middle East.

Given our 10-year track record, we’ve also amassed a sizable network and are able to refer potential suppliers and clients to our investees.  As investees grow, they are able to provide consistent cash flow to these suppliers.  In economic terms, these cash flows were estimated to be approximately US$100M annually.

An add-on benefit of GroFin’s business support is the push for better environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.  At intake, GroFin investees are measured on a variety of benchmarks, such as their accounting systems, worker health and safety policies, and environmental sustainability.  We then help them upgrade and reach global standards for their sector or industry.  As they become more organized and streamlined in their own accounting, distribution and systems, their supplier requirements also become more uniform and consistent.

Besides our own work, there’s much to learn from global leaders with proven and new approaches to local supply development.  Coca-Cola’s micro-distribution center model may have emerged to market soft drinks, but now is shaping methodologies for inclusive businesses across the developing world.   Our partner Shell Foundation has developed two new types of social enterprise “intermediaries” or supply chain connectors that work across retail supply chains in Southern and East Africa.

Finally, the SupplyChainLab is chock full of information about improving local supply chains in emerging markets.

http://www.grofinblog.com/impact_development/building-local-supply-chains/

Creating Inclusive Growth through SMEs

Despite being the world’s second fastest-growing region, Africa’s challenge is translating this growth into broad-based improvements in well-being. Tackling five key areas for sustainable SME development (infrastructure, regulation, capacity, finance and business linkages) together with targeted investment in high-growth sectors will put Africa on the trajectory toward booming, yet inclusive economic development.

How can a 5% GDP growth fail to translate into a commensurate reduction in poverty, over years and years? Perversely, how can Africa have managed to increase the number of people living in extreme poverty over the past decade? 

It all boils down to economic expansion with insufficient job creation. In some countries, this is because GDP growth is mostly stemming from resource extraction and foreign investment, with relatively little upscaling of the local services or manufacturing sectors. For example, according to Standard Bank, the discovery of the world’s 4th biggest gas reserves in Mozambique is predicted to more than quadruple GDP over the next 20 years, but create less than 1 million jobs in a country of over 20 million (mostly young) people. In some cases, there is a misalignment in the types of jobs created and the educational backgrounds of and resources available to citizens. Insufficient local job creation is compounded by increasing urbanization of former agricultural producers, inadequate infrastructure, paltry public services, sub-par intra-regional trade and other limitations. All of this gives rise to the current situation, in which “lived poverty” pervades and remains virtually unchanged across Africa.

Promoting local small and medium enterprise is the most effective and sustainable solution for creating more inclusive growth. SMEs, in general, comprise the majority of firms and the largest employer in much of the world. As opposed to foreign investment, which may be concentrated in a particular sector or region, local SMEs create opportunities across geographic areas and sectors and employ much broader and more diverse segments of the labor force. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that formal small enterprises provide better stability, higher pay and better benefits to their employees than micro enterprises and informal firms. In comprising the majority of firms and reaching much deeper and earlier market penetration than foreign firms, local SMEs are often the principal provider of goods and services in lower and middle income communities.  They also are more tapped into local networks and are instrumental in creating offtake for other local suppliers, thus strengthening local value chains.The expansion and fortification of these local value chains means higher local job creation and increased revenues to both private and public sectors.

Yet across Africa, more than 70% of SMEs cease within 5 years and in some countries, the failure rate is as high as 90%. While some of this dissolution may be inherent to creative destruction, there are also internal and external factors that combat SME growth potential. Having identified these factors, we can maximize the likelihood of success. Above all, we must create strong SME ecosystems. An enabling environment for a successful SME segment would have the following characteristics:

1) Infrastructure: Comprehensive and navigable transport networks (from roads to trains and aviation), consistent electricity, decent telecommunications systems and fiber-optic networks ensure SMEs can produce and sell. In many African countries, SMEs have cited regular electricity and infrastructure as their biggest growth challenge.

2) Regulation: Regulatory factors can make it too costly or too cumbersome for SMEs to grow their businesses. These factors can include cost and time of formalization, legal structures to protect investors, the bureaucracy of labor policy and tax payments. African countries have historically demonstrated higher relative monetary and time requirements for regulatory compliance. 

3) Capacity: Improving human capital is correlated with improved growth, at the firm level. At the most basic level, setting standards and providing instruction on basic principles of accounting, strategy and marketing can be instrumental for SMEs. For example, GroFin’s surveys of over 5,000 SME entrepreneurs across Africa indicate that most of them lack basic accounting systems as well as formal ESG standards. As SMEs grow, more rigorous technical assistance becomes vital, especially to comply with procurement protocols of government or large corporates. 

4) Finance: Over 70% of SMEs in Africa cannot access adequate capital to grow their businesses. Whether it’s fulfilling their first large contract or expanding facilities to fit more customers, SME capacity to meet demand is often capped by capital constraints.

5) Linkages: Networks can play a pivotal role in enabling SME growth. This is particularly true when revenues are derived from business-to-business sales, but networks can also play a role accessing capital, inputs and other business opportunities. At GroFin, we have now added business linkages to our social performance metrics so that we can leverage our networks to find investees new suppliers and clients. Additionally, local and international networks (ranging from chambers of commerce to investment facilitation organizations such as VC4Africa) are helping to connect entrepreneurs and make business opportunities more widely available.

Assuming the aforementioned factors are addressed in the business enabling environment, SMEs are in an optimal position to advance inclusive growth in Africa.  This can be accomplished most rapidly by high-growth SMEs, specifically. In other words, increasing the number of new firms is not as important as supporting firms with high job creation potential. Contrary to popular belief, it is high-growth SMEs, and not start-ups, that significantly expand employment. While short-term growth is expected from any company that fills a gap in an emerging market, the goal is to find more long-term high growth companies. Research on the high-growth SME segment is still nascent in Africa, but the global literature, as well as applied experience in SME development and impact investing, leads to a few insights on defining characteristics:

• Established cash-positive firms and seasoned entrepreneurs: Cash-positive firms with even 2 years of activity have a greater probability of overcoming the segment’s 70% failure rate. Likewise, seasoned entrepreneurs with a track record in the target sector or industry are more likely to be able to navigate launching a new business or product.
• Corporate supply chains: Insertion within large corporate supply chains can help SMEs improve operational standards and reach scale through consistent cash flows.
• Consumer products for a growing middle class: Africa’s growing middle class is expected to reach 1 billion by 2060. Businesses that tackle gaps in their consumer demands, especially those with solid product and marketing distribution systems can ride a huge wave of growth.
• Localized Technology: Globally, tech businesses are recognized for delivering tremendous returns to investors. But to be classified as high-growth in Africa, these businesses should be responding to gaps in the local market. There is a huge difference between replicating Western apps for a relatively small upscale market versus scaling mobile payment services in a region which is over 80% unbanked. The latter would be classified as high-growth, as evidenced by the successes of M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money and Zoona.

Imagine an Ecosystem for Small & Medium Enterprises

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it must take an ecosystem to grow and scale thriving businesses. We place a lot of emphasis on the role of financiers, business development service providers, incubators, government and donors to grow this ecosystem in Africa. But what’s really exciting is to see multinational corporations step in and likewise contribute to supporting entrepreneurs, scaling innovations and making local economies more inclusive. 

Last month, GE announced the launch of a 200 million rand (USD 18.7 million) fund for South African small and medium enterprises. This fund is part of a broader pan-African engagement which will inject more than 5 billion rand (over USD $467,000,000) into the continent. The fund will combine technical and general business development services and financing to build a more competitive cadre of local suppliers long-term. Early stage to mature SMEs that fit within the GE supply chain will be eligible for training, support and funding. The program will ensure participating companies meet the production standards necessary for GE, thus preparing them to serve other multinational corporates as well. Additionally, the fund aligns with South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment initiative and localization goals, by targeting black entrepreneurs or those from previously disadvantaged groups. By expanding economic opportunities for entrepreneurs that were previously restricted from accessing capital and networks, it will also be vital to creating inclusive growth in one of the world’smost financially inequitable nations. 

The launch of this supplier development fund also coincides with GE’s launch of a Customer Innovation Centre [CIC], also here in South Africa. The 500 million rand facility will be a research and innovation hub to generate better energy, health care, transport and lighting products for South African and African markets. Like the SME fund, the CIC also addresses socio-economic inclusion, focusing on recruitment of black and previously disadvantaged groups. Given that these demographic groups also reflect the majority of South African consumers, their inclusive insights about customer preferences will likely be useful as well. While the CIC’s research and product development are primarily oriented towards better localization of GE products, there’s no doubt that the innovation and technology transfer will end up benefitting industry at large. As with GE’s partnership with Quirky or its Healthymagination fund, these are perfect illustrations of shared value.

For South African entrepreneurs, especially within energy, health care, transport and lighting, it’s a fantastic opportunity to access capital, world-class technical capacity building, and off-take with a global brand. For GE, it’s a strategic business play to gain a long-term competitive edge in Africa. From these vantage points, it looks like a win-win… and if so, it could have major implications for Africa’s venture capital and SME finance ecosystem.  

Because even as more SME funds open and early stage venture capital networks increase, it’s worth remembering that the SME finance gap is still nearly 100 billion USD here in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

If GE, the fourth biggest company in the world, is willing to bet on local SMEs in Africa, it could potentially catalyze other large companies. Corporate venturing is a very tactical response to the local content requirements in many resource-rich African countries. Since their investment is based on strategic imperatives and not just financial returns, corporate venture investors are well suited to help fill the SME finance gap. They have the specific technical expertise to build capacity. Equally as important, their offtake agreements will actually help boost turnover, thus growing the SMEs. And of course, this makes SMEs more creditworthy, which is also a boon for the SME finance sector. 

With a company of GE’s magnitude taking such a strong stance for SMEs in Africa, it will hopefully generate a ripple effect that will draw other major players into the space.

African Angel Investors

As an impact investor, I see angel investors as key allies and collaborators, but angel investor circles are notably absent in most African capitals. This is ironic, given that many forms of community and social lending (like susus and chamas) have existed here for ages. Although the amounts lent in these groups are small, they show the same collaborative spirit that’s behind angel investing. Still, given the less sophisticated financial and regulatory markets in Africa, there are not many formal structures where one can gain this kind of support, especially for social and BoP-focused business ideas.

I had the pleasure of attending the recent Sankalp Africa Forum session on Angel Investor Networks, where Suzanne Biegel, Eric Osiakwan and Ranjith Cherickel presented on behalf of Clearly So, Angel Africa List and 88 mph, respectively. Discussion focused on the challenges and potential solutions to developing Africa’s angel investing ecosystem.

As the panelists mentioned, high-net worth individuals in Africa can make great earnings in local real estate markets, through government procurement and even by trading – so many see little reason to seek returns from something as novel as angel investing. Thus, convincing people to engage in angel investing in Africa requires lots of trust, and potentially some social pressure.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has reportedly tried to catalyze this social pressure by supporting angel networks and homegrown philanthropy. African Investors for Development was launched in 2012 with a similar mission. I was really delighted to learn that AngelAfrica is now partnering with the African Venture Capital Association on some of this ecosystem development, and I wish more of the other players would likewise begin to align and collaborate. It will end up improving returns for all of us.

As the panel pointed out, developing local angel networks means opening up sources of capital that  bring expertise plus market linkages – these lead to increased probability of business success. They also mean more active networks for information sharing, which helps all investors (including impact investors) vet deals more effectively. Relative to foreign impact investors, local angel and domestic impact investors are more likely to recognize and support high-value business models that reflect their local culture. This helps make our market-based development solutions more endogenous and probably more effective.

Local angel networks are also good for pipelines, good for “first loss” capital and good for creating an ecosystem. They can even be among the backers of impact investment funds, which reduces our currency risks. All of this can contribute to good fund economics for impact investors.

In my view, the two big challenges to developing Africa’s angel investing ecosystem are:
– Creating the impetus
– Ensuring inclusiveness

The first challenge is slowly being addressed, given the advancements mentioned above. It would be even better if the media and civil society were similarly highlighting the importance of African angel investors, furthering the social momentum.

The second challenge will be much harder. Africa is the world’s second most inequitable region, after Latin America, and money tends to coagulate among connected individuals at the top.  Through educational incubators and business plan competitions, we can at least ensure that some of the businesses supported will be generating solutions for the base. We also have to work to ensure geographic inclusiveness, as currently the incubators, angel networks and impact investors are disproportionately saturating in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. 

A Golden Burst of Flavor and Incomes for the BOP

By Tara Sabre Collier

The goldenberry is creating BoP jobs in Peruvian highlands.

Goldenberry lives up to its name.  The small saffron-colored marble-esque berry, with the texture of tomatillo and taste of tangerine, is generating waves of demand among Peruvian and international gourmets. This demand is creating golden opportunities for BOP farmers in the Peruvian highlands. Its cultivation does not require massive investments in technology or even in human resources, and so these shifts in international preference, can add huge value for a region of small farmers.

The highlands, particularly Cajamarca, have a long legacy of agriculture and animal husbandry, but not necessarily of innovation in the global economy. Cajamarca, renowned for its potato, rice, corn, wheat and cassava, however, is at the forefront of developing a rare fruit cluster. Indigenous to Peru, goldenberry is by no means a new fruit, but it has only recently experienced acclaim in Peruvian gourmet cuisine and in international markets. This emergence has created an impetus to not only expand production, but also to organize, streamline and maximize a new and potentially competitive cluster.

Historically, goldenberry has grown endogenously in wild orchards, but was not cultivated industrially. Today, there are more than a dozen companies, mostly SMEs in the Lambayeque region, developing the goldenberry cluster. Some make raisins, others make jam, spirits, or juices, and new entrants are investigating potential in the organic, pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. The “boom” has lead to a greater need for goldenberry production and catalyzed demand for value chain products and services such as wires, poles, nets, baskets, containers, transportation, consulting, professional, technical, labor, and vendors – to name a few.

The small farmers who predominate the region have found diverse income streams in small processing plants that have sprouted up, as well as in pruning and harvesting jobs. This has been particularly beneficial to low-income women, who are participating in this market. Nevertheless, the region has struggled in lacking the technical and market expertise to maximize the development of the sector.  Here, with Technoserve and the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer project, I have had the good fortune to work with young professionals who are helping to fill this vacuum: Alejandro Otoya and Hans Gutierrez, of Agro Quri. These entrepreneurs sensed goldenberry’s huge potential more than four years ago and wondered how they could standardize superior quality and mass produce on a broader level, while creating jobs at the base of the pyramid.

(Above: Enjoying Peruvian goldenberries. I can personally attest it far exceeds its other exporting competitors when it comes to flavor).

“After three years of research, we obtained a high quality fruit, golden color (which is required by the export market), delicious flavor, texture and aesthetics, down to the cocoon that covers, which is also very decorative,” says Otoya. 

The entrepreneurs lunched Agro Quri with a mere two acres and a host of local farmers in Cajamarca. Otoya notes that the local farmers were reluctant at first; lacking confidence that goldenberry could be lucrative. In fact, one of Agro Quri’s greatest challenges was dealing with resistance from local farmers to abandoning the conventional structure. Financial investment went hand in hand with dialogue and cooperation to gain trust and buy-in from the local farmers, who eventually formed the association. The entrepreneurs began by introducing and financing drip irrigation systems and staking systems that lengthen the plants in matrixes with galvanized wire. 

“With staking systems, the plant can grow two feet unlike wild plants that are expanded and do not grow much. With this technology, the culture adapted to the conditions of the mountain to get an output of 15 kilograms per plant, versus the average seven to eight kilograms,” said Otoya.  

Today, Agro Quri’s investments have paid off handsomely. It now produces enough to supply more than two tons per week of fresh goldenberry to national supermarkets, creating incomes for hundreds of local farmers.

Looking ahead, the young entrepreneurs are unrolling plans to create a processing plant and are beginning to eye the export market. Colombia and Zimbabwe lead only a handful of countries that produce goldenberry globally, but they already have advanced their agrarian technologies and export logistics. Alejandro, Hans and rest of the goldenberry producers in Peru also must master the next step in the chain and hopefully help Peru carve its niche. Peru’s reputation (although probably not undisputed) as the culinary capital of South America and growing global demand for Peruvian specialties can be huge assets in branding Peruvian goldenberry. By doing so when exposure is still new, consumer preferences can actually be in Peru’s favor.  

I personally have tasted the Peruvian goldenberry and can attest it far exceeds its other exporting competitors in flavor. So Alejandro, Hans and the rest of Cajamarca have one less consumer to convince.

Original source: http://nextbillion.net/blogpost.aspx?blogid=1979

Eco-tourism in the Sacred Valley

Maras has more burros than people. Yet in the lucid expanse of hills and mountains known as “the Window to the Sacred Valley” Maras does not have many jobs or industries or much else, besides nature, agriculture and a rich cultural tradition. That may change, with the opening of Sumak Andean, an eco-tourism center launched by Cusco entrepreneur, Elena Gonzalez.
Sumak Andean aims to provide tourists with an immersion experience in local customs that go back to the Incas while bolstering opportunities for the people of Maras. This is seemingly a perfect symbiosis.
With the support of Technoserve & the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer project, I was able to directly collaborate with Sumak Andean in development of their marketing campaign and was able to witness some of the challenges and opportunities of this model firsthand.
Eco-tourism and cultural tourism are an ideal income generation projects in rural and isolated areas, with landscapes that will entice tourists and with a certain cultural and environmental “purity”. Its meant to be a sharp contrast from the average eco-tourist’s frenetic, high-tech and globalized existence. In many of the isolated areas that meet these criteria, there may be paltry industrial development, transport and infrastructure.
This can complicate supply chains and reduce an already small market of target consumers. However, for those truly committed to sustainable development and cultural exchange, taking an extra boat, dirt road or burro to have an amazing experience is part of the experience.
Another challenge can be maximizing eco-tourism’s potential as an income generator when higher education and business administration have been such distant realities or priorities for the local population. Any eco-tourism center can bring economic benefits, by creating markets for local agriculture and handicrafts- but to exceed that benchmark and bring more direct economic opportunity requires maximized local staffing. For people who have only known farming or quilting or herding, learning how to itemize a budget or implement a marketing plan can require a huge leap!
This educational gap may be why many eco-tourism centers are run by outsider or foreigners. However, social entrepreneur and travel agency proprietor Elena Gonzalez created a unique cooperative model for Sumak Andean. Elena leads Sumak Andean in collaboration with a local women’s association form the community. The association was initially a cooperative of local women making handicrafts and lunches from locally grown crops- Elena enjoyed bringing tourists to the cooperative for meals en route to more visible tourist locales such as the local salt mines or archaeological sites. But there was no building, no bathrooms, no structure, in place for anything more than a roadside, hearth-cooked meal. Elena partnered with the association to help them obtain a commercial space, and create something bigger.
Together, they created a business plan that won Technoserve’s Idea Tu Empresa Business Plan competition. With no knowledge of how to write a business plan, no capital, no equipment, no land, the community association was in no way prepared for a commercial loan. Even if they had obtained a microfinance loan, they still would have been without the technical capacity to manage construction, launch and operation of the space. With funding and technical assistance from Technoserve and the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer project, Elena and the association are currently in the midst of construction and improving the constituents’ capacity in sales, customer service and management. Elena hopes that after building their skills up, the association will be able to assume complete control and leadership of Sumak Andean.
The association is gaining more and more financial savvy and more innovative ideas about improving their business and involving the community. As they interact with tourist, they learn more about consumer preferences and trends and already, they have expanded to include Sumak Andean herbology tours, cooking classes and craftsmanship classes. While some worry about the effect of exposure to globalization can affect traditional communities, community members in Maras are mostly proud and eager to share their culture. Although they don’t know much about typical lifestyles in the US or Europe, they sense that the American and European tourists can gain immense value in learning how to live in harmony with nature. As the tensions over natural disasters and corporate sustainability reach a boiling point, insight from communities like Maras becomes even more relevant.
Eco-tourism presents great potential to help both industrialized nations and emerging markets gain needed experiences, resources and insights. Its part of a new generation of business models that merge social impact and environmental sustainability. Of course, balancing these objectives can lead to new challenges, which Elena and myriad other entrepreneurs are deftly overcoming.

Original source: http://community.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blogs/ecotourism-in-the-sacred?xg_source=activity