Every once in a while, you run across something that everyone likes. One thing that comes to mind for me is ice cream. Very few people don’t like it.
While not everyone is a coffee drinker, almost everyone who hears this story learns how being a conscientious consumer can change the lives of a community.
In the small town of Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico, where arabica and robusta coffee are grown, life is much better than it was in 2001. Back then, the price for a bag of coffee was about $30, and today, it is $160.
When you can help a community by giving the farmers in that community the ability to buy a coffee roaster, it changes their lives forever.
They repaid that loan to the group of ecumenical churches, which gave them $20,000. Now they are taking care of that community in so many ways.
Those small storefronts are full of supplies because those in the community can now afford to buy from them.
Coffee is the most labor-intensive crop one can grow. It can take three years, from planting a seed to your first harvest. Once your plants are ready to harvest, it can take a few months to finish the harvest and weeks to de-pulp, dry, husk, and then roast the coffee.
Every day while I was in Salvador Urbina, my host, Pelayo, spread the Robusto coffee to dry it before going to the roaster.
I have seen changes since I visited the community just three years ago. Most of all, I saw more laughter and smiles than ever before. The reason is that they can live as families in the community.
