Rubbercorp, Colombia

When Beatriz García joined the Colombian company, Rubbercorp, as a manager in 2012, she initially encountered opposition.

“It was tough,” she says. “Only seven of the 45 producers who provided rubber for the company were women. The men didn’t believe a woman could hold a senior role. But I had confidence I could do the job well, whatever their view of me.”

Going to work for Rubbercorp in Caucasia, Antioquia, meant a big lifestyle change for Beatriz, who had been based in Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá.

“My mother had always lived in the region as a local leader. So I had a strong feeling of returning to a place where I was rooted. I believed that my work could make a big difference to peoples’ livelihoods.”

Beatriz felt a deep commitment to develop a company in a part of Colombia beset by problems. The region is known for its volatile political, social and economic climate with high levels of illegal activity in the mining industry as well as in the coca trade, the raw ingredient in cocaine.

“I was well aware of the challenges when I decided to go back there,” says Beatriz. “I knew the kind of communities around there and what they were up against.”

Beatriz joined Rubbercorp in the early days of the company’s formation. She was determined to encourage local farmers to seek economic alternatives to coca, although she knew this would be met with resistance.

Rubbercorp began to raise awareness amongst local populations about the environmental and social benefits of rubber cultivation, showing how it could diversify farmers’ incomes. Some farmers already had rubber trees on their farms but were not cultivating them commercially.

“People around here have a profound love of the land and want to stay on it,” says Beatriz. “Rubber is a long-term venture which keeps people on their property. It’s important to empower farmers to use their land for rubber and other crops, rather than coca, and take ownership of their land.”

Smallholder farmers use traditional methods to tap rubber from the trees, which involves making incisions in the bark of the rubber tree to allow the latex to flow out. The latex is then collected in cups attached to the tree and later processed into rubber sheets. Farmers are encouraged to use organic fertilisers and pest control methods to maintain the quality of the rubber and protect the environment.

Rubber cultivation for smallholder farmers in Colombia includes several production methods, including agroforestry, intercropping, and mixed cropping. Agroforestry involves planting rubber trees alongside other crops such as cocoa and bananas, which provides additional income for farmers while preserving the environment. Colombia is a significant producer of natural rubber, with over 75,000 hectares of cultivation. Rubber production activities are carried out in 17 departments of the country.

Beatriz recognised that it was crucial for farmers and families to band together and organize themselves.

“We urged farmers to be patient,” says Beatriz. “For every four hectares of rubber planted, one direct job and three indirect jobs can be generated each year, benefitting over 9,000 families.”

As staff saw the work she was doing and the way Beatriz interacted with producers in the field, respect for her grew. She was also promoted to the position of general manager within the company.

“It’s important to create an environment where small-scale rubber producers have access to knowledge and understand markets,” she says. “It means the business model is sustainable. This allows them to have sovereignty on their farms and to commit to a legal way of doing business.”

In 2019, Rubbercorp began receiving support from IC Fundación, through an USAID funded programme. The foundation helps businesses which operate in communities considered to be socially and economically vulnerable. Argidius has partnered with IC Fundación since 2022 because of its ability to combine tailored support with catalytic funding at favourable rates for community-based businesses in rural areas.

Assistance to Rubbercorp included developing greater clarity about their business and operations model, as well as their costs and expenses. An investment plan was created and debts for public services, repairs and loans were settled.

Director of IC Fundación, José Andrés Díaz Merchán, says they chose to work with Rubbercorp as the company clearly had the commitment to generate positive social and economic impact in the communities they operated in.

“The hard work of Beatriz García has been key to the company's success,” he says. “She has led all processes with the search for new customers and strategic alliances with different entities. Her motivation is that future generations have another way of living, and that the company can generate progress and well-being for producers through the sustainable use of natural resources in the rubber production chain.”

In 2022, Rubbercorp achieved sales of US$582,000. Now with a new credit granted by IC Fundación and its ally, Fundación Bancolombia, Rubbercorp hopes to reach sales of $2 million in 2024. Along with this loan, the company also received non-refundable resources to support the implementation of a wastewater treatment plant that allows it to fully comply with environmental regulations. Today, Rubbercorp works alongside more than 1200 producer families, who supply rubber from around seven thousand hectares of rubber.

“The business support has been more like a relationship with a good friend,” says Beatriz. “The foundation developed a deep knowledge of our business model and could give us the right advice in terms of loans, the links we needed to make, as well as long-term relationships we should develop. A business loan, without the right support, could be terrible. It’s been the exact opposite with IC Fundación.”

Hand in hand with Rubbercorp’s expansion has been the growing recognition of women’s role in the business. Many of the farmers supplying the company are female, in charge of their own plots of land.

“These women are showing that they can be leaders and can play an important role in society,” says Beatriz. “The income they earn from rubber pays for their children’s school fees. The growing industry is also an opportunity to foment peace in the region, lift people out of the illegal coca trade, and live in security. Every human being deserves that.”