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Coffee Industry Sustainability
We are doing our part!
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In the coffee industry, there is nothing more important
than the welfare of the coffee growers. As in all
industries, there are the large ‘mega-growers’ who
thrive and enjoy profitability. Then, there are the
small individual growers who fight to simply survive.
Their entire family, including the children, may work in
the orchards. Their livelihood will largely depend upon
the weather conditions and if they have a bad growing
year, they go hungry. It is a difficult life. |
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All growers harvest all grades of coffee green bean. In
other words, each coffee tree will yield, Specialty
Grade, Premium Grade, Exchange Grade, Below Standard
Grade, and Off Grade. Green coffee beans are sorted into
the appropriate grade as part of the process that gets
coffees to exporters and ultimately to us so that we can
roast them for you. The small family grower is critical
in the coffee ‘supply chain’ and collectively, they are
responsible for the bulk of the world’s coffee
production. These growers need to receive a good price
for their products but unfortunately, they are totally
at the mercy of the coffee markets because coffee is a
‘commodity’. The commodities markets are influenced by
many factors… i.e. weather, politics, large growers,
fuel costs, etc. The small grower has little opportunity
to have measurable influence on these markets. Nor do
they have access to ‘the inside information’. So, they
are subject to whatever comes their way. All to often,
when there are fluxuations in the markets, the small
family grower suffers the most. |
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So, what is The Evelyn Bay Coffee Company,
Ltd doing to help?
Our position on the
above-described situation definitely differs
from the ‘popular culture’. We do not
support large organizations that are
established to maximize profitability for
growers but yet have huge staffs and spend
large sums of money on marketing… we
question how much benefit the growers reap.
WE ARE INTERESTED IN REAL RESULTS… WE ARE
INTERESTED IN PROVIDING ‘DIRECT’ ASSISTANCE…
WE ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING AND KNOWING
THAT 100% OF EACH OF OUR DOLLARS GOES
DIRECTLY TO THE GROWER… NO LARGE
ORGANIZATION… NOT A MIDDLE MAN!!!
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We also realize that we
cannot change the world and improve the
lives of all growers, but we CAN have a
direct impact upon a specific community or
regional group of growers. So, we are
working to help the people of the Meru
District, Eastern Province growing region in
Kenya. We purchase their coffees
directly through the Mbegu Tamu Coffee
Company, LLC. The owner, George Mwiti
Gichengi moved to the US from the community
of Ruiri and has become a close
friend of The Evelyn Bay Coffee Company,
Ltd. George grew up in Kenya and worked his
way through college picking coffee cherries.
He came to the US with the objective of
helping the growers in his home region to
get a fair price for their coffees, to help
them improve the quality of their product
and their lives, and to facilitate the
sustainability of the Kenya coffee industry.
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George has created a
non-profit (Msingi Bora Community
Development Inc.) foundation to help his
people and we (EBCC) sit on the board.
Together, we are working to increase the
sales of the great coffees produced by the
people of the Meru District. Increasing
sales is the first step. Secondly, we will
be working to provide ‘direct’ logistical
assistance by providing transportation so as
to reduce the ‘time to market’ and eliminate
people having to physically carry bagged
coffees. The third step is to get them
improved access to water. They need wells
and other methods to get water for green
bean washing.
Please ‘stay tuned’ for updates on our
work!!! |
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If you would like more
information or have any questions, please
contact us today!
We look forward to serving you!
SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS |
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