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Credits Caption: UN Resident Coordinator Anna Pont meets with community members during a site visit in Pando, listening to local experiences and priorities around forest based livelihoods. Photo: © CINU La Paz

Published on December 29, 2025

In the heart of the Bolivian Amazon, communities in Pando are growing a future with coffee, açaí, and care for the forest

In Bolivia’s Amazonian department of Pando, coffee, açaí, Brazil nuts and other forest fruits grow beneath a living canopy. Here, production does not mean clearing land. It means working with the forest, respecting its rhythms, and strengthening traditional food systems that sustain families, biodiversity, and local cultures.

This shared vision came into focus during a joint UN visit in October to the communities of Londres 2, El Chorro and Santa Fe, in the municipalities of Filadelfia and Porvenir. Led by UN Resident Coordinator Anna Pont, the visit brought together four UN agencies to listen, learn, and see how communities are building resilient livelihoods through the programme Strengthening Sustainable Food Systems in the Bolivian Amazon for Living Well and in Harmony with Mother Earth, known as AMAS-1, with financial support from the Joint SDG Fund.

Caption: During a joint UN visit to Pando, Resident Coordinator Anna Pont engages with community members working to strengthen sustainable food systems in the Amazon. Photo: © CINU La Paz

Working alongside the State and partners including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the programme is helping families strengthen their livelihoods in harmony with the forest rather than at its expense.

From mechanic to forest farmer in the community of Londres 2

Londres 2 is a small forest community in the municipality of Filadelfia. It is one of the places where families are quietly shaping a different kind of future, rooted in cooperation, care for the land, and shared effort.

One of those families is led by Benedicto Sandóval, a coffee producer and community leader in Londres 2.

Benedicto arrived in Pando in 2012 from Tiquipaya, in Cochabamba. Trained as a mechanic, he never imagined he would one day become a forest farmer. Yet that is exactly what happened.

“It was a huge change, but I loved it,” he says. “And thanks to my background as a mechanic, I could also support the community.”

Now 65, Benedicto was among the first producers to help build Londres 2. Over time, the community has become known for its strong organization. There is a small school with a covered communal space, a football field maintained collectively, home gardens cared for mainly by women, fruit trees tended with care, and clearly organized areas for Brazil nut collection.

In the early years, selling coffee was a struggle. Benedicto remembers when a kilo sold for barely two bolivianos. Today, robusta coffee dried in cherry sells for around 30 bolivianos per kilo, providing a steady source of income for families.

Training supported by FAO and other partners has also transformed how producers work with the land. Burning practices have been replaced with sustainable alternatives that protect soil and forest health. With continued support from AMAS 1, the community of Londres 2 is strengthening its coffee production while improving livelihoods and working conditions for small producers.

Women at the heart of Brazil nut collection in El Chorro

El Chorro is another forest community in the municipality of Filadelfia, where Brazil nut collection plays a central role in family incomes.

Here, women lead much of the work. Marcia Zela Tuno is the president of the local Brazil Nut Collectors’ Association and one of the voices shaping the future of the community’s production.

Marcia shared the association’s dream of exporting Brazil nuts and accessing better markets. With support from the AMAS 1 programme, the association is working to regain certification, which would allow them to secure better prices and improve safety for collectors through protective equipment and basic first aid supplies.

For Marcia, the storage facilities built by the association are a point of pride. They have improved collection and reduced losses, but they also symbolize something deeper. Women earning income through the forest, strengthening their organizations, and showing that conservation and economic opportunity can grow together.

Coffee and forest fruits in the community of Santa Fe

The joint UN visit also reached Santa Fe, a small community in the municipality of Porvenir, where nearly 20 families rely on agroforestry systems for their livelihoods.

José Fabián Álvarez, president of the community, explained that families in Santa Fe produce coffee, cacao, citrus and plantain under forest cover. While production is strong, marketing and pricing have long been a challenge.

Caption: At Cabaña Don Peki, locally grown coffee is roasted and prepared by the community in Santa Fe, Porvenir. Photo: © CINU La Paz

Through AMAS 1, producers are receiving training in financial education, food safety and basic business skills. These tools are helping families better understand their costs and set fair prices for their products.

Visitors arriving in Santa Fe are welcomed with a cup of locally roasted coffee known as Don Peki. It is served by Don Peki himself, one of the community’s coffee producers.

“We are showing that there are sustainable ways to produce,” says Jaquelin, his daughter and a promoter of Amazonian coffee production. “And we are happy to keep learning, especially women.”

Original publication: https://bolivia.un.org/es/306033-en-el-coraz%C3%B3n-de-la-amazon%C3%ADa-boliviana-pando-transforma-su-futuro-con-caf%C3%A9-asa%C3%AD-y-cuidado

Note:

All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.