b'A cardamom forest in the hills of the Salacuim Mountains. The biodiverse natural landscape of Guatemalas Alta Verapaz Department has great potential for agroforestry practices that restore forests and boost income.RIGHT Heifer Guatemala also encourages individual Cardamomproducers to form organizations or registered farmers traditionally relygroups to aggregate production. With a higher on middlemen,volume of product, farmers can access the drying know as coyotes,process themselves and cut out some of the to purchase their product. Freshintermediaries, selling directly to Nueva Kerala cardamon rotsor other exporters at a better, value-added price.within a few hours so the spice needsOnce the harvest is done, we walk to the road, to be processedwaiting to see the coyotes [intermediaries] so we quickly, andcan sell our products for the best possible price farmers often feel pressured to[they will take], said cardamom producer Ciriaco accept the firstChom. That is why I am thinking of renting price offered.a dryer, so I can improve my profit margin.Because of the regions rich natural landscapefertile hills and cloud forestssystems. Another aspect of the program isAlta Verapaz has potential to develop high- investment in cardamom dryer improvements value agroforestry products and servicesthat can better the quality of the spices whileChisec Greenhouse, the largest managed by its local communities. Thecutting down on environmental impacts. municipal nursery in the country, specializes in fine wood trees program promotes sustainable land-useThrough these and other investments, theand various spices, including practices that can generate incomes and restoreGreen Business Belt Program is improvingcardamom. Villagers and farmers forests while working to mitigate climatelives and increasing opportunities forare compensated for planting new sprouts, which they can later use change across 4,750 acres of biodiverse forestproducers and their families.n after the rainy season.16| SUMMER 2021 HEIFER.ORG |17'