Cultivating coffee together

The Curibamba project

Enel is building a 200 MW group of hydropower plants in rural Peru, involving the basins of the rivers Comas, Uchubamba and Tulumayo, some 300 km from the capital city Lima.

The economic advancement of the people living close to the plants in the valleys of the Monobamba district depends on the improvement of roads, new sewerage networks, investment in education, culture and sport, as well as support delivered to local economies, mostly in agriculture.

The clean energy from the new hydro plants is a crucial factor in driving development to meet the region's growing energy needs, but we also directly engage the local communities to ensure we can all benefit.

It was clear to us that energy can help, but we also asked what else the community needs to thrive. From a dialogue inspired by the Creating Shared Value model, the Curibamba Coffee project was born.

“The development of rural communities living in this area, some 300 km from the capital city Lima, depends on the improvement of roads, new sewerage networks, investment in education, culture and sport, as well as support delivered to local economies, mostly in agriculture”

Empowering farmers to grow

The Curibamba project sees Enel support the development of family-run micro-businesses. The land was perfect for coffee cultivation, but farmers had been unable to harvest crops, mainly due to the lack of adequate machinery, suitable infrastructure and technical skills.

The project enables the farmers to learn how to improve the cultivation and management of small plantations, ensuring employment and economic support.

Enel offers farming families resources and direct support amounting to around 60% of the cost of their activities. Enel does not provide money, but rather engages actively and constructively, providing services aimed at improving production quality.

In addition to this support, teams of experts in coffee production and cultivation care regularly visit the farming families offering them practical advice and training.

“The lack of adequate machinery, of suitable infrastructure and technical skills did not allow farmers to deliver produce fulfilling market standards and many farmers were forced to abandon the area's traditional activity”