About Us

Community Agroecology Network (CAN) is an international organization that confronts some of the world’s most pressing problems in sustainability and conservation. CAN helps rural communities in Mexico and Central America develop self-sufficiency and sustainable farming practices. We promote integrated approaches to sustainable community development. The result is:

• Increased tropical biodiversity
• Enhanced food security and community resilience to climate change
• Improved farmers’ livelihood, and
• Direct relationships between producer and consumer.

History

In 2001 during the height of the coffee crisis, founders Dr. Stephen Gliessman and Robbie Jaffe traveled to five farming communities in Central America and Mexico. Four of the communities depended on the coffee market to support their livelihoods. For them, the consequences of the coffee crisis were dire. Migration, deforestation, and hunger threatened the fabric of rural life. Recognizing that these difficulties were better confronted together, CAN was founded to link farming communities throughout the region and consumers in the United States. From the first few pounds of coffee brought back to friends and family grew a network of consumers purchasing coffee directly from the farmers.