Coffee Kids blog

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

What a single plant can do

By Pedro Pérez

In the community of Nuevo Progreso, Oaxaca, revolution is underway. This is not the kind of revolution that calls people to arms. It is not the kind of revolution that, in the end, will only work to the advantage of those in power. If successful, this revolution will change the landscape of Nuevo Progreso—and possibly the entire region—and will give the land back to the people.
During my latest program trip to the community of Nuevo Progreso, located in the western part of the state of Oaxaca, in the Costa Chica region, I witnessed the beginning of what appears to be a radical change in the way farmers cultivate their land.

Just 30 miles from Nuevo Progreso is the Learning Center for Appropriated Technologies (CATA), a place where agronomists and farmers come together to experiment with new agricultural techniques and rescue long-forgotten ones. According to agronomists at the CATA, the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture has been detrimental to the fertility of the soil, caused significant deforestation and has led to great environmental harm in the region and, specifically, in the community of Nuevo Progreso.

These agronomists and a number of local farmers have proposed replacing slash-and-burn methods with better land management and agroecological techniques. One of the practices farmers from Nuevo Progreso are initiating is crop rotation and the introduction of nitrogen-fixing plants such as Mucuna pruriens, better known in the region as the “Nescafe” plant (not to be confused with the brand Nescafé). This plant, praised in Africa, India and the Caribbean for its medicinal and horticultural benefits, will help farmers recover their land by enriching it, thereby better enabling them to live off the land as they have for generations.

Among the many benefits found in the “Nescafe” plant is the ability to fix nitrogen to the soil, thanks to bacteria that assimilate nitrogen from the air and mix it with other chemicals to produce organic fertilizer. Mucuna pruriens is also used as fodder for its high fiber and protein content. In the community of Nuevo Progreso, 24 farmers currently cultivate this plant and rotate it with their usual corn, bean and squash crops. The “Nescafe” plant also shows promise in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and clinical depression.

The farmers of Nuevo Progreso have taken the first steps in regaining control of their land. The revolution has begun. A big part of the success or failure of this revolution lay in the hands of the farmers themselves and their ability to take advantage of their acquired knowledge, especially the agroecological practice of cultivating “Nescafe” to once again make the land fertile, allowing them to cultivate higher-quality coffee.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Happy holidays to all of our supporters and friends

Special thanks to all of the friends, supporters, members and partners who make our work possible. As 2011 comes to a close, we look forward to your support in the coming year to ensure a bright future for the coffee-farming families we serve.

We’re delighted by our supporters’ creativity and their fundraising efforts.

Square Mile Coffee Roasters is selling the 2012 World Barista Champion calendar. One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit Coffee Kids. The calendar is available for purchase at Square Mile’s online shop. Get your copy today!

For the second year in a row, Reunion Island Coffee is selling their limited edition Organic Holiday Blend and will donate $.25 per pound to Coffee Kids.

Boston Stoker, which has nine coffee shops and a wholesale roasting plant in the Dayton, Ohio area, recently sent in $6,000 from the coin drops they use to collect donations from their customers and staff.

These are just a few examples of the ways businesses and individuals raise money on our behalf. Fundraisers help educate your customers and staff about the reality of life in coffee-growing communities. They also let members of your community know that you care about the origin of your coffee. A coin drop box collection program is perfect for retail locations like coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores. Coin drops provide consistent and much-needed support for Coffee Kids programs.

If you’d like information about how to set up a coin drop at your business or about setting up a fundraiser, download our fundraising guide (PDF) here and please call 505-820-1443 or email .

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

El tequio: working for the greater good

By Pedro Pérez

We often forget about teamwork, about lending a hand to others in need, or simply helping each other out. We live in a society where individual values are often more important than community values, and where things get done when you have the money to pay for someone to do them. During two recent program trips around the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, I visited two communities where communal work is still a way of life and an essential tradition. This type of communal work is referred to (at least in Oaxaca) as tequio and derives from the Nahuatl word tequitl, which means labor or tribute.

The tequio is, according to some people I interviewed, a way to get things done, a way to carry out big projects that the community needs and the government is unable to fund. Some of these projects might include laying the floor for the basketball court (this is, after all, the usual meeting point in most Oaxacan communities), or bringing basic services to the community: electricity, running water or a road to connect them to other communities. At least one family member from every family in the community must contribute to the tequio every time they are called upon.

The few times I have seen a tequio, I have been completely blown away by the amount of work each individual puts toward the welfare of the community without receiving an apparent economic benefit. This group effort gives the people a sense of community that is essential to maintaining order and progress.

The tequio has been, and I can only guess that it will continue to be, very important to some of the communities where Coffee Kids works, not only because economic resources are limited, but because the value of helping each other is deeply rooted in their traditions. We could all learn a little from these communities about the benefit of putting the well-being of the community as a whole before individual economic gain.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

A little compost goes a long way

This year, Coffee Kids’ worm-composting project is getting a lot of attention. Why? Because it’s a perfect example of how much can be done with just a small investment.

Our program partner, the December 5th Coffee Producers Network (RED 5), out of Oaxaca, is leading the project. In just one year, they’ve set up worm-composting bins for 39 participating families and generated more than 15,000 pounds of compost, which they use in their family vegetable gardens.

One of the few people chosen to participate in this first round of worm composting is a man named Ángel Jiménez García. “I was very excited when I got my worms,” says Ángel. “I’ll put all the castings they produce in my vegetable garden. I grow some heirloom tomatoes that’ll benefit from the worms…I just feel fortunate to receive these worms, and I’ll care for them.”

This region of Oaxaca has, over the years, suffered topsoil depletion. The worm-composting project will directly address this urgent issue by replacing essential nutrients and allowing farmers to grow their own vegetables both for their own consumption and to sell in local markets.

A RED 5 farmer spends, on average, $320 USD per year on organic fertilizer. Given that this represents around 30 percent of his annual income, composting translates into significant savings. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website, about half of the population of Mexico lives in poverty, and the state of Oaxaca is one of the poorest with one of the highest rates of malnutrition.

“When I was a kid, my dad used to take me to the field to work,” remembers Ángel. “Those were long, hard days, but we always had something to eat…Now the situation has become harder for my children. If I want to provide them with enough food, I have to work twice as hard.”

Other members of the community share Ángel’s experience. This project marks the beginning of a trajectory in sustainability. In six years’ time, all of RED 5’s participants will have worm-composting bins. They will have family and community vegetable gardens, and an alternative source of nutrition and income.

Rarely is it more apparent what a little bit can do.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Food Security and the Coffee Farmer

This year Blog Action Day coincides with World Food Day. In honor of the two, we’re posting Development Director Peter Kettler’s perspective on food security in the coffee-farming context.

Food security. For many coffee consumers those words might conjure up images of inspectors in pristine white lab coats, clipboards in hand, picking over bunches of broccoli in search of a stray insect or some faint residue. For others it might mean stockpiles of soup and bottled water, stored in a corner of the cellar alongside a flashlight and transistor radio, ready for some possible catastrophe.

But in the world of coffee producers, food security means quite another thing. It means having access to enough food to adequately feed themselves and their families every day of every month of every year. Unfortunately, due to an almost perfect storm of population growth, climate change and a growing competition for natural resources, many coffee-farming families are facing widespread insecurity when it comes to meeting one of their most basic needs.

Although Coffee Kids programs are designed to address a wide variety of issues facing today’s coffee producers, there is perhaps none more important than food security. It is the very foundation upon which any discussion of quality of life is built. If there were a Constitution of Coffee, food security would be listed as the first item in its Bill of Rights.

That’s why Coffee Kids is pleased to announce our Food Security Campaign. This effort will, over the next year, help coffee-farming communities develop and implement a wide variety of sustainable, locally based solutions to address the mounting problem of food security.

Our goal is to raise $100,000. In an industry with estimated sales that will exceed $13 billion over the next year, this is small change indeed—small change that is desperately needed in order to make big changes in the lives of coffee farmers.

The specialty coffee industry has shown steady growth due to its commitment to quality. Please help us ensure that the coffee industry’s definition of quality includes a future that ensures a quality of life for its producers.

Rick Peyser of Green Mountain Coffee provides a valuable perspective on the issue of food security, its effect on farming communities and what it could potentially mean for the coffee industry as a whole. As he says, “We must pause and ask ourselves, ‘Who will grow the next generation of specialty coffee?’ For our sake and for those in the industry who will follow in our footsteps, we had better have a good answer.”

To find out more about the Food Security Campaign or to participate, please contact Development Director Peter Kettler at .

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Featured Project: Traditional Medicine Project in Honduras

We have a new project this year in Honduras that both recovers lost traditional-medicine knowledge and provides community members with the medical attention they need.

Partner: The Coordinating Association of Rural Women of La Paz (COMUCAP)
New Partner in 2011
Project Area: Health Awareness
Location: Honduras
Participants: 257 women from 16 communities

The Coordinating Association of Rural Women of La Paz (COMUCAP) is an organization made up of 256 Lenca women farmers from 4 municipalities in the La Paz department in Honduras. COMUCAP was founded in 1993 with the aim of raising awareness of women’s rights, as well as supporting the marketing of their products. COMUCAP contributes to the social, economic, political and cultural development of its members by encouraging their participation in all of the decision-making processes in their communities as well as by providing opportunities to develop their technical, financial and political skills.

The Lenca is the largest indigenous group in Honduras, and most live in the department of La Paz. They have undergone a deep transformation since the Spanish conquest. Although they have undergone acculturation, they have been able to retain many pre-Columbian traditions. Despite this, they have unfortunately lost their native language and their cultural relationship with the land. An example of this is the lack of knowledge of local plants for medicinal purposes.

The most common type of ailments in La Paz are acute respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal disorders. The high cost of medicine, the loss of medicinal plant knowledge, and the lack of basic health services have led to an increase in both respiratory disease and gastrointestinal disorders.

This project will train 257 women from 16 communities in the Marcala, La Paz region of Honduras in the importance and use of medicinal plants. Women will learn to prepare and use 150 different remedies. Thirty-two community representatives will become health promoters at the end of the workshop and will spread their knowledge of traditional remedies throughout their communities.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Joe’s Challenge!

A guest blog by Joe Behm, owner of Behmor, Inc.

Opportunity.

An interesting word. Those with the means to read this, likely, have had endless opportunities – albeit, some more than others. Not only have I been blessed with having the opportunity in life to passionately enjoy two separate careers, one in electronics and now coffee, I’ve also been blessed with opportunities to overcome missteps in life. This is why every time I arrive back in the USA, I’m actually excited because of the opportunity afforded me, despite my missteps (and I also get to see my wife.. a double win in my book).

All of which is my point.

Traveling as much as I do, especially to El Salvador and other coffee regions, I’m constantly reminded there are those, such as the children and families of coffee workers, who do not have the endless opportunities we enjoy. As such, I’m dedicated to the idea that we who do have opportunities should take the opportunity to provide what may be just one opportunity to others less fortunate than ourselves.

The cross-country bike ride benefiting Coffee Kids, CycleAmerica2011, is a prime example of how that can be done.

I’m proud, as a person in a position to help, to assist in providing a young girl or boy an opportunity to expand their knowledge and reach or a family the opportunity to improve their quality of life.

Those reading this can share in providing an opportunity.

Thus my challenge to you.

CycleAmerica2011 is a 3000 mile ride across the USA. As such, Behmor Inc. will donate $.25 per mile for each of the two riders. This amounts to a total of $.50 per mile.

The challenge to all here is to give what you can, be it $.25, $.10, $ .05 a mile or even just a penny. It all adds up, because in the end, the total sum means an opportunity for a child, for a family, for a community. These opportunities go on to create other opportunities, and thus Coffee Kids is able to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of the families with whom they work.

Thanks to everyone for their past support of Coffee Kids, and I wish all those here the best in their pursuit of opportunity.

Coffee Kids invites you to meet Joe’s challenge!
Please contact if you would like to join CycleAmerica2011 in their journey to raise £10,000 for coffee farmers and their families!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Featured Donor: Industry Magazines

We want to thank several donors this month who support Coffee Kids in a very important way: through donating advertising space.

As a small nonprofit organization, we cannot afford to pay for advertising. That’s why we depend on the support from media sources to help us get the word out either through donating ad space or running Coffee Kids stories.

Fresh Cup has generously donated ad space, as has Barista, Tea and Coffee, Roast, Coffee and Cocoa International and Coffee Talk.

We want to thank them for their generosity and encourage you to do so as well. Let them know that it’s important to you to choose magazines that support coffee-growing farmers.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

So what does Coffee Kids do… exactly?

At Coffee Kids, we’re often asked, but what do you do, exactly? It recently occurred to me that perhaps the best way to get a feel for exactly what we do, is by taking a look at a few of the projects we have going on in coffee-growing communities throughout Latin America.

It’s important to point out that Coffee Kids doesn’t actually carry out these projects. A cooperative or NGO at origin contacts Coffee Kids with a project idea. Once that project is accepted and approved, Coffee Kids funds it. Those funds come from people like you and businesses like your neighborhood coffee shop. (If that’s not the case, you should head over to said coffee shop and ask them why they don’t support Coffee Kids.)

Coffee Kids’ support doesn’t stop there. We continue working with communities through site visits, evaluations and constant communication. We want these projects to become sustainable and do what it takes to support them in that process.

Here is just one of 19 projects that we have going on this year. Be on the lookout for a few more featured projects in the coming weeks to get a better feel for how Coffee Kids is making an impact at origin.

Partner: ASER MAIZ
Partner since: 2010
Project Area: Food security and health awareness
Location: Veracruz, Mexico
Participants: 700 individuals from 8 communities

The Advice and Rural Services Center (ASER MAIZ) promotes community development by improving economic, social and political conditions within several communities in Veracruz, Mexico.

Founded in 1996, the organization was created as a response to the crisis that affected rural areas in Mexico after the signing of NAFTA, which reduced government spending in the countryside. ASER MAIZ seeks to train rural families in the areas of sustainable agriculture, food security, development and organizational skills and help them to more effectively demand public services from the government.

In the northern region of Veracruz, rural communities often suffer from easily treatable illnesses due to extremely limited access to health services, nutritious food and to adequate shelter. Even where services are available, such as in rural health clinics, medicines are scarce, and people can barely afford them.

Staple foods, such as corn and beans, have suffered low yields in recent years due to diseased crops. Community members are often vulnerable to the ever-changing climate patterns that can damage and even destroy their food crops.

Other factors, such as low-paying jobs and a high unemployment rate, have considerably weakened the local economy. This keeps families from buying nutritious food, which is often more expensive, making it harder for them to maintain a healthy diet, which leads to illnesses for which the families cannot afford medicine. The end result is a vicious cycle that’s hard for families to break.

This integral health project will promote the use of traditional and preventive medicinal knowledge to reduce the number of curable diseases among the population. In addition, this project will diversify the production and consumption of food by training participants to take advantage of high-yield crops and promoting the recovery of lost local crops. At the same time, it will introduce beekeeping as an alternative source of income and as a dietary supplement.

Friday, July 01, 2011

Sign up to support coffee farmers!

We want to invite you to get involved in an upcoming Coffee Kids fundraiser.

Steven Prime and Dayle Walker — two lads from Coventry, England — will be bicycling across the US this July and August to raise money for Coffee Kids. They have a really ambitious target — £10,000 GBP! We want to do everything we can to help them achieve that, and we suspect you will, too.

To find out more about the cyclists’ route and schedule, visit the CycleAmerica2011 site.

If you aren’t able to participate by doing one of the activities listed below, consider making a donation over at CrowdRise.