In the commune of El Carmen, in Chile’s Ñuble Region, Marrón Andino is much more than a company dedicated to buying and selling chestnuts. It is a family, community and productive story that has grown from the territory, connecting the work of local producers with international markets.
The company was born from the drive of its founding partners, among them Gloria Otárola, mother of Nicole Rivas Otárola, a current partner and employee of Marrón Andino. Although Gloria passed away from leukemia, her legacy remains alive among those who continue to develop the project.
“One of the fundamental beginnings came from my mother, Gloria Otárola. She was one of the company’s initial partners. My mother passed away from leukemia, but the legacy remained. The children of the partners have continued with the company, and we still have that drive to help it grow,” says Nicole.
Today, Marrón Andino buys chestnuts from local producers and sells them to international markets, mainly Italy. Its work helps strengthen a local value chain, create economic opportunities and add value to a product rooted in the territory’s identity.
For years, however, one barrier limited its possibilities for growth: the lack of connectivity.
A rural business facing the digital divide
In rural areas such as El Carmen, especially in places closer to the mountains, internet access has historically been limited. For a company that needs to coordinate with producers, communicate with buyers, share information and maintain relationships with international clients, the lack of signal is not a minor problem.
“The commune of El Carmen only began to have good internet connectivity a few years ago. The truth is that the closer you get to the mountains, the scarcer the internet becomes. Therefore, connectivity here in the commune is not good,” Nicole explains.
This reality directly affected Marrón Andino’s ability to communicate with producers, reach new people interested in selling their chestnuts and promote its work through social media. The lack of connectivity made timely information, coordination and network expansion more difficult.
The arrival of Connected Communities opened a new stage for the company and for its surroundings. The programme, developed by UN Chile together with the Government and partners from the public and private sectors, with funding from the United Nations Joint SDG Fund, seeks to reduce the digital divide in lagging rural territories through internet access, digital skills training, stronger telehealth services, access to public services and support for local productive development.
In its territorial implementation, the initiative also coordinates with the Regional Governments of Ñuble and La Araucanía, municipalities, communities and local actors. In Ñuble, Connected Communities has already surpassed its initial target of 25 connectivity points and is now moving into a new phase focused on training, so communities can fully use connectivity in education, health, access to State services, productivity and local development.
For Marrón Andino, satellite connectivity arrived at exactly the right moment.
“The satellite connectivity project they offered us truly came at the perfect time,” says Nicole. “It helps us with communication with producers, and with reaching out to producers we do not yet know. We now have the possibility to share information through social media as well, something that was difficult before and that we are now going to start implementing.”
