Across rural Colombia, thousands of families depend on panela — unrefined cane sugar — to earn a living. Yet for many smallholder farmers, selling through intermediaries has long meant low prices, unstable incomes, and little opportunity to invest in their land or communities.
That reality is already shifting.
Heincke, a certified B Corporation, partners with more than 1,000 smallholder farming families across six regions of Colombia. By providing technical support and helping producers transition to regenerative agriculture, the company improves product quality and connects farmers directly to higher-value markets.
Participating producers can earn up to 30% above traditional market prices, with incomes averaging 27% higher than traditional producers.
Earlier this month, during our Community Trip to Colombia, we visited Heincke’s operations and met Juan Pablo, a third-generation panelero. On his farm, sugar cane is cultivated for nearly 18 months before it is ready to harvest. A typical production day requires five people — three cutting cane in the field, one transporting it by mule, and one organizing the harvest at the farm.
At the trapiche, the cane is crushed, filtered, and boiled. Ten kilograms of cane yield just one kilogram of panela. After four rounds of filtering and boiling — using natural ingredients such as guásimo grown directly in the cane fields — the thick liquid is poured into wooden molds. Within five minutes, it hardens into solid blocks of panela. The wooden molds, made from trees that grow alongside the cane, are so durable that some have been in use for more than a decade.
It is skilled, physically demanding work — often carried out by families farming 6 to 10 hectares, with harvest cycles carefully staggered to ensure year-round production.
With a $200,000 loan from Beneficial Returns, Heincke is expanding its operations and strengthening its processing capacity — building resilience in regions affected by poverty, conflict, and climate variability.
As CEO Fernando shared during our visit, Heincke is a company with a soul — committed to transforming the panela sector so that business success and farmer prosperity go hand in hand.
This is how traditional agriculture endures and how smallholder farmers build more secure futures.
Learn more about Beneficial Returns’ approach to impact lending.