New consultancy Kune supports green coffee production in Latin America

A new consultancy firm has launched in Latin America: Kune, which focuses on achieving greater sustainability in coffee agribusiness. The company was launched by Jeroen Bollen, who has many years of experience in the sustainable coffee business.
Guatemala is one of the largest coffee producers in the world, with large concentrations of producers also found just over the border in the Mexican state of Chiapas. This highland coffee region is seriously threatened by the effects of climate change, which have decreased quality and yield while increasing costs.
That is where Kune comes in. Company founder Jeroen Bollen hopes to get involved in projects that have a positive effect on smallholder coffee farmers in the region. Over the past 20 or so years, Bollen has worked on social lending, cooperative management, and sustainable development projects in Central America.
Bollen’s career up to this point has been with coffee producers in Guatemala, where he first worked with Manos Campesinas coffee producers’ cooperative. He continued on this trajectory as director of impact and sustainability, and later director of supply and operations, at US coffee company Sustainable Harvest.
Kune, which means ‘together’ in Esperanto, looks to focus entirely on agriculture in Latin America. The idea is to bring together various stakeholders – like producers, coops, and non-profits – to work on initiatives for the overall good of the sector. The ultimate aim is equitable progress not only for the environment, but also in the social sphere.
“With the experience of working directly with coffee producers in Guatemala and other countries, then providing finance to smallholder producers throughout Latin America, and more recently working in the importer and sustainability realm of the coffee world, the moment has come to share that combined experience with others,” said Bollen.
Climate change has reached a true tipping point in recent years and threatens delicate environments around the world. Central America, in particular, has been greatly affected by rising temperatures. Smallholders often pay a steep price for abnormally hot weather and because they have limited resources, may face serious financial distress if they lose their crop.
That is why greater climate resilience is so important for coffee producers in this part of the world. But besides rolling with the punches of climate change, Kune also wants to help smallholder coffee farmers find ways they can help counter climate change in their own ways.
“While it’s a step into the unknown, I’m convinced that through my consulting firm Kune, I can contribute to improving the livelihood of smallholder producers,” concluded Bollen.