Terrae Foundation
Open science & technology for rural equity
A pre-incorporation nonprofit putting precision fermentation and verifiable traceability into the hands of coffee, cocoa and grape producers — prioritizing women-led farming families and vulnerable households first.
Evidence, not promises
2 batches, verified on-chain
Cupping scores of 93 (coffee) and 94 (cacao) with fermentation curves recorded immutably on a public blockchain — real pilot evidence, on a public testnet, by our technology partner Cafelium SRL.
18 policies, before incorporation
Conflict of interest, anti-fraud, related-party transactions, safeguarding and 14 more — governance drafted before our first grant, not after our first audit.
Related-party governance in practice
Founders with a stake in Cafelium SRL are formally recused from any decision involving that company — documented in our bylaws, not just promised.
Producer-owned data, by design
Digital Terroir™: every fermentation record belongs to the producer who made it — not to us, not to our technology partner.
Digital Terroir™ — data ownership, not data extraction
In most traceability systems, the producer generates the value and someone else keeps the record. We designed Digital Terroir™ to reverse that: every batch's origin, fermentation curve and quality data belongs to the producer who grew it — free lifetime access to their own history, the right to grant or revoke a buyer's or platform's access, and full portability if they ever leave our ecosystem.
Governed by a documented Background IP / Foreground IP policy, not a marketing claim — the underlying technology stays with our technology partner; the data stays with the producer.
The challenge
The person who ferments the coffee, cocoa or grapes rarely captures the value that precision creates — and almost never owns the data that proves what they did. Smallholder producers, especially women-led households, are priced out of the sensors, traceability and science that would let them prove quality and get paid for it.
Our approach
We put precision fermentation equipment and blockchain traceability directly into producers' hands through community pilots, publish our methods and datasets openly through open-source protocols (CafeOps®, CacaoOps®, VinOps®) and Nebula Science®, and build the producer's ownership of their own data into the design from day one — not as an afterthought.
Mission
Democratize access to precision fermentation and digital tools for rural communities — prioritizing vulnerable households and women-led families.
Vision
Open, evidence-based fermentation science on five continents by 2030.
Why partner with us?
We are built for transparency, global collaboration and measurable rural impact.
Open by default
Methods, datasets and tools are published openly under clear licenses so partners can verify and build on our work.
Pre-incorporated governance
A drafted board, 18 institutional policies and a legal compliance corpus prepare us for donor due diligence.
Real-time science
Nebula Science® publishes peer-style articles, protocols and reproducibility assets as they are validated.
Shared value
Sponsors, grantmakers and companies can co-design pilots with producers and see attributable outcomes.
Who's accountable
A named Founding Board, not an anonymous organization — with functions split from day one to avoid self-dealing.
Nhilson Vallejo
President
Strategy, Innovation, Technology & Food Safety / Quality Systems
Drancés Martínez
Vice President
Science, R&D & Process Engineering
Alicia Núñez
Treasurer
Scientific Quality, Biosafety & Research Integrity
Yanilsa Toribio
Secretary
Program Operations, PMO & MEL Coordination
Open seat
Member-at-Large
Land & Territorial Management, Legal Affairs & Community Engagement · Appointment in progress
Board terms are fixed at 3 years with mandatory rotation — no lifetime seats. Two founders hold an economic interest in Cafelium SRL and are formally recused from any related-party decision.
Active programs
Pilot-ready initiatives designed with producers, researchers and local partners.
RuralTech Access
Equipment loans and IoT fermentation-monitoring kits — the same sensor class validated in our technology partner's 2 pilot batches (93 and 94 cupping score) — placed directly with coffee, cocoa and grape cooperatives, prioritizing women-led and vulnerable-household producers first.
Open Research
Anonymized datasets and reproducible fermentation protocols published under open licenses through Nebula Science® — so any lab or cooperative can replicate our results, not just take our word for them.
Climate & Traceability
Batch-level environmental footprints and OriginBlok® traceability from farm to first sale. Proof of concept: 2 pilot batches (93 and 94 cupping score, coffee and cacao) with blockchain-verified fermentation curves, recorded on a public testnet by our technology partner Cafelium SRL — ahead of our own first Foundation-led cohort.
Open platforms
Free, open-source operating systems and scientific publications for producers and researchers.
Impact & accountability
We track outcomes, not just outputs. Our MEL framework maps each pilot to baselines and attributable indicators, aligned to UN SDG 4 (Quality Education), 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) as core goals; SDG 5 (Gender Equality) as a cross-cutting lens; and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) and 13 (Climate Action) at the application level.
Ready for due diligence, on request
Bylaws, board composition, our 18-policy compliance corpus and budget framework are available to serious partners before you commit — not after.