Since 2015, WCS collaborated with several community productive enterprises in the establishment of a rotating harvest fund for improving commercialization opportunities for a variety of products made by indigenous communities who conserve forests and biodiversity in the Madidi landscape of northern La Paz. This fund started with an amount of Bs100,000 (U$14,368), with resources from the Civil Society Support Fund (FOSC) of the Royal Embassy of Denmark.
The rotating harvest fund provides various financial services to associations of coffee, cacao, incense and jatata palm producers, through advance payments to be invested in harvesting the primary product, an initial payment to producers, the identification of markets that recognize and privilege products based on the sustainable management of natural resources, establishing a link between producers and buyers and facilitating the negotiation of fair prices. Additionally, the fund contributes to a greater added value of the products through their transformation, such as the artisan manufacture of chocolate bars or innovative roasting that intensifies the flavor and aroma of the “Eco de las Aves” coffee. All this translates into better income for producers. Between 2015 and 2017, the total income generated by the fund for the benefit of the producers was Bs527,859.50 (U$ 75,841.88), especially in 2017, when the income was Bs333,386.50 (U$ 47,900.34), doubling the 2016 revenue (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Income generated with the rotating harvest fund in 2015-2017 period (in US $).
This financing mechanism has strengthened the role of associations in the commercialization of products, acting as a link between producers and buyers, providing resources and services, ensuring the traceability and transparency of the process, and guaranteeing the reestablishment of the fund. A crucial step in this process was the application of a specific regulation for managing the rotating fund by the associations.