SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Social enterprises who employ sustainable agricultural practices, undertaking good stewardship of the natural systems and resources that farms rely on, including: building and maintaining healthy soil, managing water wisely, minimizing air, water, and climate pollution, and promoting biodiversity.
EXISTING BORROWERS IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
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INTERRUPCION FAIR TRADE
CHILE A $37M US-headquartered business that imports organic, fair trade and biodynamic produce from Central and South America. Interrupcion works with 9,000 farmers to improve their farming practices while connecting them to international markets for their produce. Beneficial Returns made a $500,000 loan so they could outfit a cooling and packing facility for their blueberry operations in Chile. This equipment reduces spoilage leading to more income for Interrupcion and their 1,900 Chilean blueberry farmers. RSF Social Finance provided a partial, philanthropic guaranty for this loan. Interrupcion was founded by an Ashoka fellow.
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GUAYAKI
BRAZIL Sells yerba mate beverages which are distributed widely throughout the US in its goal of protecting 200,000 acres of South American rainforest and creating over 1,000 living-wage jobs before the year 2020. Yerba mate is a caffeinated plant native to the rainforests of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Guayaki’s suppliers sustainably harvest organic yerba mate from rainforest-grown cultivations and reforestation projects, generating a renewable income stream which enables these communities to improve their lives and restore their lands. Beneficial Returns’ $500,000 loan helped finance a yerba mate drying and processing facility in Brazil.
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WHOLE FOREST
ECUADOR Whole Forest is a social enterprise that is committed to job preservation and forest preservation in the Choco Rainforest of Ecuador. Whole Forest harvests balsa from small landowners and operates a factory that produces balsa laminates used widely in the wind turbine blade industry. The business is demonstrating that slash and burn practices can be replaced by sound forestry practices when there exist long-term private markets for sustainably harvested wood. Beneficial Returns provided Whole Forest a $150,000 loan to finance its entry into the hardwood business.
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ANANAS ANAM
PHILIPPINES Ananas Anam is the inventor of Piñatex, a leather alternative made from pineapple leaves that are normally discarded as agricultural waste. Ananas Anam aims to provide a more humane and sustainable option to leather while providing pineapple farmers - primarily in the Philippines - an additional source of income. With applications in clothing, automotive upholstery, and footwear, its customers include Hugo Boss, H&M, and Skoda. Beneficial Returns provided a $36,000 loan to finance new fiber extraction equipment.
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KIWA
ECUADOR Kiwa is a producer of vegetable chips made from crops grown by over 300 indigenous farmers in high-altitude regions of Ecuador and Peru. All Kiwa products are gluten-free, Kosher and non-GMO certified. It distributes in over 15 countries under the Kiwa brand and through private labels of major retailers, most notably Walmart. Its dual aim is to profitably grow its consumer-packaged goods business and to build an equitable supply chain that benefits indigenous crops and low-income farmers. Beneficial Returns provided a $100,000 loan to Kiwa to finance additional production equipment to support its growth.
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