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The native people of Peru have come up with a way of cultivating coffee beans without requiring any forest areas to be cleared.

Peru is home to large areas of mostly intact rain forests, and the native people, called Mayni, have come up with a way of cultivating coffee beans without requiring any forest areas to be cleared.

Normally, coffee plantation owners strip vast areas of rainforest to make way for their crops, but the Mayni have now figured out a way to grow coffee in the shade of large trees.

As a result, they are able to preserve the forest and provide a rich habitat for wildlife. And these actions are also having a positive impact on the community as their natural environment remains in place.

The Guardian has reported why this practice is so important to the Mayni people.

“Most of the forest is kept intact, with just a little undergrowth cleared to plant Coffea arabica trees. Dahlia Casancho, who is leading the Mayni in their eco-friendly coffee-growing endeavours, sees shade-grown coffee farming as a positive development for the community, who traditionally believe in a forest god and river god.”

As the second-largest producer of organic coffee in the world, this could become a new standard for organic coffee farming. 


Chris is one of GreenCitizen’s writers who has been a long-time advocate of individual responsibility when it comes to the environment. He shares GreenCitizen's passion for making the world a better place every day of the year.

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