In our new site, we are building a mixed cinnamon/coffee agroforest combined with avocado trees, shade trees for coffee (leuceana leucocephala), indigenous trees and timber speciesa lgon the field boundary. As it was a new area, last year september we started the FPIC (Free Prior and Informed Consent) Process to discuss our carbon project to new farmer groups. We take time for this, as the plan should fit farmer's needs, education and aspirations. Once, that is covered and agreed upon in every detail, participatns will feel very responsible to take the management and responsibilities into their own hands. With the rainy season coming next month, all new 86 farmers will start planting the trees. They will use ring weeding and pressing of weeds, as part of our Assisted Natural Regeneration techniques. This saves a lot of labour, and can be done using family labour only (no need to hire labour).

Performance-based contract and payments
The performance-based carbon contract has been signed by the participating farmers. This means that we can do the first carbon payment. We directly transfer the funds through internet banking into the bank-account of the farmer groups. Opening such an account is done with support of our team, who always help the faremrs to get this done in the bank.
From discussions with farmers in the past, it is now common practice to pay 80% of the total 5-year carbon funds in the first 2-3 years. This will bridge the income gap between planting and the first harvest (coffee wil start producing after 2-3 years). It is also wonderful, that our carbon offsetting clients understand this, and are willing to pay a higher percentage of the 5-year contract in the first year. this allows us to cover the relatively high costs in the early years.

Distributing Carbon funds according to Covid-19 protocols
The pictures show the meetings our team had with the farmer group members to discuss the best way to distribute the first carbon payment. Not only because it is a substantial amount of money, over 11,000 euro, but also how to ditribute cash payments in the context of COVID-19. It was decided that payments will be split over time, and by making 4 farmer sub-groups to avoid a large crowd gathering for collecting the funds. Also, each farmer will get a specific time when to collect the funds. Understanding that this might take more than a week, the point was raised, that poorer families will be the first ones to receive the payments (the head of the cooperative and the village head will make the distinction). Such wonderful solutions largely result from the thorough FPIC process at the beginning of the carbon contract. Farmer-based problem solving is done because they have a high sense of ownership of the carbon project, as their opinion and suggestions were included in the carbon off-setting contract.