Category: Updates

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Drone Pilot Training with FUNACH

Flying drones for forest-monitoring is no small undertaking, and relies on having well-trained pilots on-the-ground. Pilots with the Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI), who are working on drone maps of the Yoro Biological Corridor (pictured here) are attending a 4-day long workshop/training session in the use, management, and safety of flying drones.

Topics covered in the training included things like civil aeronautical rules, flight tricks for avoiding potential hazards (e.g. obstacles, or interference in the connection with the remote control) and cloud identification for safe flights.

The training was sponsored by FUNACH (Fundación en Acción Comunitaria de Honduras), a project organization that belongs to the group of co-managers of the Yoro Biological Corridor. FUNACH’s development objective is “To ensure food security and increase families’ income through the introduction of sustainable and ecologically sound agricultural production methods.”

And the workshop was taught by FUNACH General Manager, Ángel Irías and Certified Drone Pilot, Miguel Muños.

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Meeting with Indigenous Tribe Tolupan

Meetings with local community members continue, the most recent being with the indigenous tribe “Tolupan” (above). The Yoro Biological Corridor (YBC) team met with the Directing Council of the Tolupan Tribe, in the town of El Suntular, to discuss their issues and potential opportunities with the corridor.

The Tolupan population originates from pre-Hispanic times, during which they were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. Today tribes vary in their lifestyles; Some of which include the more traditional hunting with a bow, and even abstaining from contact with strangers, but also some that now include farming. More about the Tolupan here.

The meeting, which was very positive, is important to the YBC project because these Tolupan people live within the geographical borders of the Corridor, and the YBC team is grateful for the opportunity to learn about their needs.

Along for the meeting was Skarleth (below), who is in university studying the costs of organic farming vs. conventional. Skarleth was also hired by the YBC team to work on the 600 coffee farm survey aimed at gauging farmers’ interest in adopting the Yoro Model’s Integrated Open Canopy™ (IOC) coffee farming.

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Soil Carbon Training Underway

Yoro Biological Corridor coffee farmers and program participants have been engaging in scientific training for how to accurately analyze carbon in soil this past week.

The training is a mix of field and classroom work. Team members are learning how to capture a soil sample, as well as how to measure the carbon and nutrient levels in a sample.

And it’s all taking place at the new research field station, which is now up a running with internet and multimedia presentations 🙌

The soil carbon data team.
Analyzing the data back at the field station.
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Addressing Water Issues with ‘Comunidad de Paya’

Paying a visit to this vibrant community in the Yoro region, Honduras last week. The community, called ‘Comunidad de Paya’ resides within the borders of the protected Pico Pijol National Park.

The National Park Service requested that the Yoro Biological Corridor team meet with Comunidad de Paya and discuss issues around water scarcity, trash disposal; as well as present the benefits and solutions offered by the Yoro Biological Corridor program.

110 people were in attendance, motivated by the degrading conditions of the natural water resources they rely on for survival.

The Cuyamapa River that runs through this region is drying up due to the effects of deforestation from coffee production and other agricultural encroachment on intact forest areas.
A view of the deforestation taking place in the surrounding region where the Comunidad de Paya calls home.
Meeting and presentation with ‘Comunidad de Paya’ to address water scarcity issues.
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600 Coffee Farmers Surveyed for Opinion

Coffee farmers in the Yoro region of Honduras are showing an interest in adopting reforestation on their farms.

This is indicated by the results of a recent survey of 600 coffee farmers in the region, implemented by Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI) and overseen by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

The survey was aimed at gauging farmers’ interest in adopting Integrated Open Canopy™ (IOC) coffee farming (in which they restore forest areas on their coffee farms).

The results indicate a very strong desire on the part of coffee farmers to participate in IOC™:

85.7% of farmers say they are interested in adopting IOC™ production! … And of that 85.7% (54.7% indicated “definitely”; and 32%, “probably”)

The language of the survey, which deals with complex subject matter, was developed through focus groups of local farmers; both those practicing IOC™ and others who had no knowledge of IOC™; And in terms of the overall survey, 96.5% said they were confident in their choices, and 92.6% said the scenarios presented were realistic.

These are validating results illustrating that the concept of being financially rewarded for restoring forest on coffee farms is both relevant and desired by many local community members. These results also mean it’s expected that more farms will be added to the 20 existing IOC™ pilot farms. 🙌

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The Drones Have Landed

Drones are the latest addition to the Yoro Biological Corridor team, and everyone in the community is excited about them!

These drones will be used to accurately map and monitor the forest canopy on IOC coffee farms. They make it easy, efficient, and fun to collect data … Once you learn how to fly them of course!

And their first task is to provide researchers with a high-level detailed vegetation maps of 40 farms.

Off the ground and recording 🎉
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Setting Up a New Field Station

Supplies are taking off from the city of Yoro to the small rural town of Subirana; the coffee-growing lands.

And they’re arriving at a farm that’s being turned into a field research station!

This will provide a hub for researchers and community members. A place where they can gather, share/compare data, use the internet, have a meal, and even wash their clothes, which can get easily drenched depending on how the weather swings that day, rain or heat!

The internet task force!
Installing a new water system.
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YBC Central Government Meetings

Proponents of the Yoro Biological Corridor (YBC) are marching ahead with government support this month.

Above: Meeting in the Central Government Office (ICF) in Yoro with the Honduran Forest Park & Wildlife Service to discuss next steps with the YBC legal process.

Below: Presenting to the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Yoro Region to build further support.

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Second Round of Soil Samples

More soil collection is underway on IOC farms in the Yoro region of Honduras!

Carried out by youth conservationists, this fieldwork is critical to accurately quantifying the carbon-sequestering capabilities of the soil on Yoro Model lands.

Yoro Biological Corridor researchers are about two-thirds of the way done taking samples now, and expect have the soil data by this fall. (The first samples were taken back in October-November of 2022).

So many samples, so little time 😉
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YBC @ Sustainable Coffee Challenge “All-Partner Meeting” (2023)

The Yoro Biological Corridor (YBC) was represented at the annual, global “All-Partner Meeting” of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC); A two-day event that took place March 7-8 in Tampa, Florida.

Proponents of the YBC, Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI), were in attendance along with delegates from some of the largest coffee companies in the world, including Nestlé, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Starbucks, Keurig Dr Pepper, Lavazza and Starbucks. The overall objective of the meeting was bring coffee industry leaders together in one place to address sustainability issues within the industry, including coffee’s carbon footprint and upcoming EU deforestation laws.