Las Diosas
Central Las Diosas · Dry Corridor, Nicaragua
About this project
Central Las Diosas operates in one of the most environmentally stressed growing regions in Central America: Nicaragua's dry corridor. Droughts have intensified in frequency and severity, disrupting normal production cycles and threatening the food crops that sustain farming households between harvests. Geomapping conducted with Cooperative Coffees support confirmed a lack of vegetation cover across four communities — a loss that is degrading the microclimates coffee needs to develop properly.
The cooperative is 100% women, and the challenges are layered. Sixty percent of members are seniors who need meaningful engagement and income. Young women face a crisis of rural identity — without a life plan that connects them to the land, generational succession becomes impossible. Las Diosas is addressing all of this at once: drought resilience, coffee quality, economic opportunity for senior women, and a reason for the next generation to stay.
The impact fund approved $16,000 — targeted specifically at home gardens and coffee renovation for newly organic-certified farms, plus the youth leadership school and senior craft training program. The cooperative contributes the remaining project costs through its own resources.
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Project goals
Establish 50 home gardens using low-water, short-cycle crops selected for the dry corridor climate — reducing food insecurity during drought periods and diversifying household nutrition and income.
Support coffee renovation and quality management tools for 10 farmers newly certified organic, and distribute organic fertilizer to improve productivity across member farms.
Run a youth leadership school for 20 young women, helping them build life plans rooted in the cooperative — with 3 participants awarded seed funding to pursue their plans.
Provide craft training to 20 senior women, whose work will be sold nationally and internationally through Mayacert's With Women's Hands program — activating fine motor skills and generating supplemental income.
Who this supports
Project updates
June 2026 — Funding approved
The Cooperative Coffees impact fund approved $16,000 for Las Diosas, focused on home gardens, coffee renovation for newly certified organic farms, the youth leadership school, and senior craft training through the Mayacert With Women's Hands marketplace.
Updates coming as gardens are planted and programs launch. Check back soon.