The ViFOUNDATION is dedicated to fostering positive and sustainable change within coffee farming communities. Our primary focus is on mitigating risks and enhancing the livelihoods of coffee farmers and their communities. We actively promote the adoption of progressive agricultural practices among coffee farmers.
The ViFOUNDATION is an independent foundation under Swiss law and regulated by the Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority. The ViCOLLECTIVE AG supports the ViFOUNDATION financially through donations and pro bono work.
We believe that the ViFOUNDATION’s independence underscores the importance of addressing the challenges faced by coffee-producing countries. The ViFOUNDATION serves as an open platform for companies, organizations, and individuals interested in contributing to positive change in coffee farming.
– Digital advice to farmers with farmbetter
– Rwenzori’s Potential
– Phantom Stock Program (WIP)
– Compost Facility Finca Los Nogales
– Mondful Afforestation Program
– Gifts for the women of Aprolma
– Solar irrigation for Ciumenene
Kurt Lambert
Chairman // Co-Founder, Chairman of ViCAFE, Drives different ventures
Johanna Jacobi
Member // Assistant Professor of Agroecological Transitions at ETH Zurich
Mark Heasman
Member // Head of Activism at Zurich Foundation, Sustainability-focussed philanthropy expert
PASCAL HERZOG
Member // Executive Management Team at ViCAFE: Sourcing, Roastery, Bakery & Impact
SILVIO MATTANZA
Member // Vice-Chairman Board Member at ViCAFE, Risk & Compliance Officer at Quantex
farmbetter is on a mission to provide digital advice to smallholder farmers, making knowledge about sustainable agronomic practices readily available. Together, we aim to establish small farmer groups where farmers can access and exchange best practices, share experiences, and promptly report issues on their farms, regardless of the crop affected. Our origin trips will not only document emerging best practices but also preserve traditional knowledge that is increasingly endangered by standardized farming methods.
In East Africa, we work to provide access to low-orbit weather satellite data and have developed a market access tool that connects Kenyan small-scale farmers with Nairobi’s demand for organically grown food through a local PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) program.
Specifically for coffee, we aim to identify the most relevant, peer-reviewed lessons on agroecology farming and make them available to all our partner farms and the surrounding communities. This will empower them to decide how they would like to restore their farms and nurture their communities.
global, current focus on Kenya
2024-2025
USD 100’700
Composting in Uganda
In 2023, ViCAFE established a small holder cluster consisting of three farms in the Rwenzori Mountains, situated on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). During visits to these communities, two prominent challenges became evident. Firstly, there has been a drastic reduction in forest cover since the 1990s (an issue addressed by other foundations and NGOs). Secondly, farmers lack knowledge on how to effectively utilize organic material on their farms to enhance crop productivity. Often, they do not employ any sustainable feeding systems or rely heavily on expensive imported mineral fertilizers.
To tackle these issues, we initiated a composting project. In collaboration with the Ugandan coffee exporter Kyagalanyi, the foundation supported the development of state-of-the-art training materials, established model composting facilities, and organized training sessions for agronomists and model farmers to serve as knowledge multipliers.
Uganda, Rwenzori Mountains
2023-2024
USD 4’436
Coffee farmers generally earn relatively little but bear considerable risks, especially with the increasingly unpredictable and severe weather due to climate change. In other words, farmers face an unfavorable risk-reward balance. Additionally, we have noticed that farming communities rarely have access to the global equity market, which historically offers great financial returns.
To address this, we decided to develop a Financial Participation Program. This program involves issuing and donating a financial derivative that represents the value of a ViCOLLECTIVE AG (ViCAFE and Vivi Kola) share. Our goal is to create financial resilience among coffee farmers by bridging the equity gap between farmers and the coffee roaster/coffee shop company. After a three-year holding period, farmers are allowed to sell the derivative back to the foundation using a simple valuation formula (1*revenue of ViCOLLECTIVE AG). The payout is unconditional. Currently, only family-owned farms can participate. Farmers receive financial training and an annual report on the financial performance of ViCOLLECTIVE AG.
Last year, we initiated a pilot program in Colombia. While launching the pilot, we encountered various legal challenges, which significantly increased transaction costs.
Colombia
2024 onwards
USD 4’000
Oscar is one of ViCAFE’s longstanding coffee partners. At his Finca Los Nogales in Huila, Southern Colombia, he and his family are dedicated to advancing sustainable agricultural practices and push the boundaries of post harvest coffee processing. Oscar initiated the idea to establish a local composting facility on his property. This initiative has inspired neighboring farmers to either utilize the Los Nogales composting facility for their organic waste disposal or establish their own facilities. Additionally, Oscar conducts workshops on composting for the local farming community.
The ViFOUNDATION is providing financial assistance to Oscar for setting up this facility. The objective is to reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers at Oscar’s farm and others in the region, thereby enhancing soil quality. The facility aims to produce approximately 30 tonnes of compost per year.
Finca Los Nogales, Huila, Colombia
2022 – 2023
USD 13’501
Monocultures typically increase the vulnerabilities of ecosystems towards climate change. Forests, on the other hand, increase biodiversity, create microclimates with reduced temperatures and protect soil from erosion. Therefore, we started an afforestation project on the ViCAFE’s partner farm in Tanzania, Mondul Coffee Estate. The employees of the farm will also intercrop coffee with other fruits and vegetables, making them economically more resilient towards droughts and market changes. By the end of 2023, there will be 46 acres of newly planted indigenous forest on the beautiful hills of the Monduli Mountains with about 100 more acres to be transformed into a diverse and drought resistant forest in the coming years.
Mondul Coffee Estate Monduli, Tanzania
2022 – ongoing
USD 58.122
Since 2016 ViCAFE works together with the Aprolma Women’s Cooperative in La Paz, Honduras (65 members). When visiting in 2022 we sat together with some of the women and asked them about what they wish for. In the end we had a list with nine very hands-on wishes. Together with the staff of ViCAFE we collected the required 7000 USD.
Honduras, La Paz
2022/2023
USD 4723
Ciumenene Farm is in the highlands of Kiambu, Kenya. The region suffers from long periods of drought due to climate change. Daniel and his family, who are the owners of Ciumenene, wanted to find a solution to this problem with a water storage system that would allow him to irrigate his crops. The water is pumped up the mountain using a solar-powered pump. It is then distributed to the coffee plants by gravity, allowing for good flowering and growth of the cherries and, ultimately, a stable income for the owners.
Kenya, Kiambu
2023
USD 5247