Monday, February 09, 2009

Coffee Kids Presents at Leadership Summit

Last Friday, February 6, I had the honor of presenting at the El Pomar Leadership Summit in Colorado Springs, Colo. The El Pomar Foundation holds the leadership summit each year for young and upcoming leaders from ten universities throughout Colorado. This year’s theme was, “Leaders Wanted: Uniting to End Poverty.” Jess Arnsteen, founder of Buywell Coffee of Colorado Springs, and I presented “Rural Poverty and Your Cup of Joe.”

The presentation focused on the causes of poverty in coffee-growing communities and the conditions confronted by families there. We then covered a variety of market-based initiatives, such as fair trade and Rainforest Alliance, and discussed the positive and negative aspects of these efforts in reducing poverty. I talked about the role Coffee Kids plays in coffee-farming communities promoting diverse economies and an improved quality of life and how we can fill some of the gaps left by market-based efforts.

Special thanks to El Pomar Foundation for the invitation and the opportunity to share.