coffee&climate Toolbox Overview
Entry-ID
705680
Category
6.08 Social Behavior / Responsibility
Type of Entry
Interactive web app for smallholder coffee farmers
Awards
Red Dot Award 2025, IF Award 2025
Project video
it's crucial to equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and tools to adapt and thrive in the face of climate challenges
Design Statement
Our Creative Director Boris says:
Coffee farming around the globe is hard manual labour provided by small holder coffee farmers – and nowadays they are facing the direct effects of climate change.In order to adapt their decades-old farming techniques, we don't just want to rely on 1:1 coaching on site - we bring low-threshold digital and barrier-free knowledge about climate-resilient coffee cultivation to the countries of the world via a progressive web app toolbox.
Idea
In many rural regions heavily dependent on coffee farming, the effects of climate change, such as prolonged droughts and unpredictable harvests, are severely impacting agriculture. This requires adopting innovative practices that boost resilience to climate change, enhance resource efficiency, and support sustainable livelihoods. Beyond just modernizing agricultural techniques, it's crucial to equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and tools to adapt and thrive. coffee&climate envisioned a digital toolbox to share agricultal knowledge to adapt to climate change effects with as many small holder families as possible.
Form
Public statistics and surveys conducted by c&c employees around the world have clearly shown that even in the remote and poorest coffee regions of the world, access to the internet is now standard - albeit with major challenges. A digital toolbox that can be accessed from any internet-enabled device, intuitive design and language-independent operation ensure that as many farmers as possible can use the valuable content. Picture loaded step-by-step guides, culture-independent illustrational how-to-videos and and AI assisted translations help to lower the barriers of partizipating.
Function
We deliberately opted for a progressive web app: it offers all the functions of an app, but can also be installed on any device with an internet connection without an official app store for cheap or older smartphone models without Google or Apple accounts. With real offline storage, illustrated videos even for illiterate people, persistant to-do-lists and AI-supported translation even into rare languages, we make the information accessible to all farmers. A community feature allows coffee farmers around the world to share their techniques for climate-resilient agriculture, network and help each other improve their farming practices.
Differentiation
The initiative for coffee&climate and its public partners have been committed to responding to climate change and developing solutions for smallholder coffee farming and training on site in the villages for over 14 years. Now that digitalisation has also found its way there via smartphones, we now want to make this knowledge directly available to the smallholder families via a digital, accessible toolbox. The complete set of free of charge tools, available in all relevant languages as well as animated versions for illiterates as well as a barrier-free webapp was previously not available in the coffee farming sector around the globe.
Impact
The agricultural tools within the c&c Toolbox not only prepare smallholder families for the effects of climate change, but can also be used to act climate responsibly. These environmental benefits are also highlighted graphically within the app. For the development and operation of the app itself, attention was paid to climate-neutral server operation and absolute minimisation of travel through digital collaboration.
Criteria
Idea
In many rural regions heavily dependent on coffee farming, the effects of climate change, such as prolonged droughts and unpredictable harvests, are severely impacting agriculture. This requires adopting innovative practices that boost resilience to climate change, enhance resource efficiency, and support sustainable livelihoods. Beyond just modernizing agricultural techniques, it's crucial to equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and tools to adapt and thrive. coffee&climate envisioned a digital toolbox to share agricultal knowledge to adapt to climate change effects with as many small holder families as possible.
Form
Public statistics and surveys conducted by c&c employees around the world have clearly shown that even in the remote and poorest coffee regions of the world, access to the internet is now standard - albeit with major challenges. A digital toolbox that can be accessed from any internet-enabled device, intuitive design and language-independent operation ensure that as many farmers as possible can use the valuable content. Picture loaded step-by-step guides, culture-independent illustrational how-to-videos and and AI assisted translations help to lower the barriers of partizipating.
Function
We deliberately opted for a progressive web app: it offers all the functions of an app, but can also be installed on any device with an internet connection without an official app store for cheap or older smartphone models without Google or Apple accounts. With real offline storage, illustrated videos even for illiterate people, persistant to-do-lists and AI-supported translation even into rare languages, we make the information accessible to all farmers. A community feature allows coffee farmers around the world to share their techniques for climate-resilient agriculture, network and help each other improve their farming practices.
Differentiation
The initiative for coffee&climate and its public partners have been committed to responding to climate change and developing solutions for smallholder coffee farming and training on site in the villages for over 14 years. Now that digitalisation has also found its way there via smartphones, we now want to make this knowledge directly available to the smallholder families via a digital, accessible toolbox. The complete set of free of charge tools, available in all relevant languages as well as animated versions for illiterates as well as a barrier-free webapp was previously not available in the coffee farming sector around the globe.
Impact
The agricultural tools within the c&c Toolbox not only prepare smallholder families for the effects of climate change, but can also be used to act climate responsibly. These environmental benefits are also highlighted graphically within the app. For the development and operation of the app itself, attention was paid to climate-neutral server operation and absolute minimisation of travel through digital collaboration.
Project images
Problem statement
In many rural regions heavily dependent on coffee farming, the effects of climate change, such as prolonged droughts and unpredictable harvests, are severely impacting agriculture. This has led to rising food insecurity and a growing migration trend, as young people abandon farming. The long-term sustainability of coffee production is at risk, and while farmers are willing to adapt, they often lack the necessary resources and knowledge to do so.
To ensure a sustainable future for farmers and the coffee sector, a fundamental transformation in farm management is essential. This requires adopting innovative practices that boost resilience to climate change, enhance resource efficiency, and support sustainable livelihoods. lt also means shifting towards diversification and improving food security.
Beyond just modernizing agricultural techniques, it's crucial to equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and tools to adapt and thrive in the face of these challenges.
A climate smart web app
The coffee & climate toolbox is an interactive web app designed to provide climate-smart coffee cultivation practices for smallholder coffee farmers, trainers, and experts worldwide.
The toolbox is openly accessible from anywhere in the world, on any device, with an offline mode included for areas with limited connectivity. Developed in collaboration with farmers, technicians, and some of the world's leading climate experts, it ensures practical and effective solutions for real-world challenges. The app consolidates more than 25 adaptation and mitigation practices, which are constantly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest in sustainable farming.
Additionally, regionally optimized tools and content in various languages provide tailored guidance for smallholder farming families, ensuring relevance and accessibility across different regions.
Tool structure
The tools within the c&c Tool box are detailed descriptions and instructions for the cultivation, growing and care of coffee plants, supplemented by soil, preparation, shading and water supply.
Efficient and cost-effective practices forfertilising and processing coffee plants are also presented. The focus of all tools is on preparing one's own business for the effects of climate change. Farmers are also introduced to the implementation of their own climate and environmentally friendly practices.
The tools themselves are structured in an intuitive digital interface in various sections such as introduction, animations, video and a to-dochecklist divided into several steps, which is perfectly optimised for large screens such as PCs and tablets as well as for cheap and rugged smartphones.
Easy readability, clear steps and consistent operation should make it possible to use the toolbox as an aid directly in the field.
Language and local versions
Coffee is grown in many areas of the world. Coffee and climate is active in almost all coffee-growing regions of the world in order to promote climate-resilient agriculture for the smallholders there. A decisive factor for the acceptance of tools and information is accessibility by the population. It is essential to provide all information in the native language of the farming families. With the help of artificial intelligence and the support of local expert teams, the c&c Toolbox can be made available in almost all languages spoken in the world's most important coffee-growing regions. In addition to the languages, the instructions themselves often differ from region to region.
For example, water management is practised very differently in Brazil than in Ethiopia.
The c&c Toolbox offers regionally adapted versions of the tools that are perfectly tailored to the needs of the smallholder family in the respective coffee-growing region. Together with language independent animated how-to films and a social function for sharing best practices within the farming community, the digital c&c Toolbox provides the best possible support for farmers to shape the future of their business in a climate-resilient way.
Illustrations
A universally accepted language for important information
Instructions for climate-resilient coffee cultivation vary greatly from continent to continent. But there can also be differences in the techniques and culture of small holder families between nearby coffee growing regions. As a universal and inclusive form of presentation, a special, coloured illustration style was developed within the c&c Toolbox, which is not only used in the chapter graphics, but also serves as the basis for all animated how-to films inside the Toolbox. This makes it possible to quickly make new practices available in the toolbox without having to organise a photo shoot on site at a farm. It also removes the focus from possible cultural differences or reservations.
An extensive icon set drawn especially for this purpose can provide important agricultural information, even if the user cannot read all the technical terms in the tool. The design has been optimised for particularly good legibility in small sizes and dispenses with abstract visual metaphors and instead uses visually simplified, real objects from the everyday life of small holders, such as coffee cherries, shovels or thermometers.
Design decisions
The design concept draws inspiration from the natural world of coffee cultivation, creating a visual experience that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. The font chosen is versatile, with a clean and even appearance that ensures readability across different platforms. lts simplicity enhances the overall user experience by making information easily accessible to a broad audience.
The color palette takes cues from the rich, earthy tones of the coffee-growing landscape. These colors are not only visually appealing but also highly practical. With their strong contrast, the hues are designed to remain vibrant and clear even under direct sunlight, ensuring that text and other elements are easy to read in outdoor settings, when in field.
In addition to typography and color, the use of shapes plays a crucial role in the design. Rounded corners and "squirkle" shapes mimic the rolling hills of coffee plantations, bringing a sense of warmth and friendliness to the overall visual language. These soft, flowing forms seamlessly integrate with the illustrative elements, giving the design a cohesive, approachable feel that resonates with the natural beauty of coffee farming.
The result is a design that not only reflects the essence of the coffee industry but also invites users into an engaging and pleasant visual experience
Additional Images
