Goldenberry
Considered the natural multivitamin of the Andes, the goldenberry (also known as the gooseberry) is a smooth berry that resembles a small yellow-orange tomato. When dehydrated, the fruit has a sweet and tart citrusy flavour that adds brightness and texture to a variety of products and recipes.
Between 2020-2022 Aliados supported corporate ally - Terrafertil - design and implement their responsible purchasing standard - the Goldenberry Plan. Terrafertil works exclusively with independent family farmers to grow goldenberries, and in 2022 generated over half a million dollars in income for farmers a year from organic goldenberry.
Over the last three years, Aliados has been innovating with local farmers to implement regenerative farming techniques to nourish the soil and increase plant productivity and natural resistance to pests. Since 2023, with support from the McKnight Foundation, Aliados has been implementing a participatory research program with both local farmers and local entrepreneurs. We have established Farmer Research Networks (RAI), putting the tools of science in the hands of farmers so that they can answer their own questions through the investigative method. We are also investigating the necessary support ecosystem to enable local enterprise based on sustainable agriculture to flourish in the rural Andes.
Partners
Impact & positive change
In 2022, our work was recognised by the MIT D-Lab as an outstanding example of co-innovation, leading to the spread of regenerative farming practices, improved soil fertility, the diversification of agricultural production in these communities, and the strengthening of farmers’ capacity to be proactive and to innovate. Aliados supported goldenberry farmer associations implement regenerative farming techniques to overcome a devastating “mancha morada” plague. Through our work, farmers recuperated over 85% of lost income from the plague.