Certified B Corporation™ and impact-driven adventure brand, Cotopaxi, is proud to announce its newest impact partner, ALIADOS. The nonprofit works in the Ecuadorian Amazon to help small shareholder farmers use regenerative agriculture to connect with responsible markets and strengthen economic livelihoods, conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change.
Courtesy of Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi will support the organization with funds through the Cotopaxi Foundation, assisting ALIADOS in addressing bottlenecks in the agricultural production process in the Andes and Amazon. The methods of addressing these issues include: Supporting smallholder farmers with training, inputs and micro-grants to transition to regenerative agriculture; incubating successful local bioeconomy businesses through seed capital, business plan development, training and mentorship; ensuring stable and fair market access; and bringing local communities together to conserve biodiversity.
“Cotopaxi’s mission to alleviate extreme poverty drives us to continue seeking out and working with organizations like ALIADOS to create sustainable and effective economic change in local communities,” explains Cotopaxi’s Director of Giving, Charlie Clark. “Partnering with ALIADOS allows us to work closely with Ecuadorian farmers in an effort to collaborate on building equitable and sustainable livelihoods.”
The target outcome of ALIADOS’ project, with the support of Cotopaxi, is to reverse the chronic economic poverty and ecological degradation in the Amazon and transform it into an epicenter of regenerative farming.
“Agriculture is the primary driver of biodiversity loss in the Andean-Amazon rainforest and a major contributor to global greenhouse emissions, meaning the need to change farming practices in the region is more dire than ever,” shared Wain Collen, Executive Director at ALIADOS. “We are beyond excited to now work with the Cotopaxi Foundation to address the region’s farmers’ most pressing issues, including low farming productivity, limited business management capacity, and a lack of access to stable markets.”
The Cotopaxi Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the impact-driven brand, focused on concentrating efforts in Central and Latin America’s poorest communities, investing in health, education, and livelihood.
To learn more about the Cotopaxi Foundation, visit https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/our-impact.
To learn more about Cotopaxi, visit https://www.cotopaxi.com.
About Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi is a carbon neutral certified B Corporation that creates sustainably made outdoor gear designed to fight extreme poverty, inspire adventure, and move people to Do Good. Our Gear for GoodⓇ promise is to make gear that lasts and to have a positive social, environmental, and economic impact. By 2025, we’re committed to using repurposed, recycled, or responsible materials in all of our gear. We also allocate at least 1% of our annual revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which awards grants to nonprofit partners with proven track records of alleviating poverty. Through our Foundation to date, we have reached an estimated 3.8 million individuals who live in extreme poverty. For more information please visit https://www.cotopaxi.com.
About ALIADOS
Aliados is a non-profit organization connecting small and indigenous farmers to responsible markets through regenerative agriculture in the Andes and Amazon. At Aliados, we see smallholder farmers leading ecological restoration as fundamental to a more sustainable food system. Our comprehensive model enables farmers to have more profitable and sustainable farms and farm enterprises to be successful. We are now working with 13 farmer groups in four tropical Andes ecosystems in Ecuador, including the tropical rainforest, Andean highlands, Andes-Amazon cloud forest, and Chocó cloud forest. Our work to date has generated over US$3 million in additional revenue for families from agroforestry and regenerative agriculture, over 50% of whom are women. For more information please visit: www.losaliados.org.
