This month we featured a light roast single origin coffee from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia in our Coffee CSA with exquisite notes of jasmine, spice and milk chocolate. But most importantly, this stellar coffee is brought to you from the small holder farmers represented by Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. This large cooperative represents hundreds of thousands of farming families in Ethiopia and through their shared efforts, work to bring better outcomes to farming families.
As we celebrated International Day of Cooperatives with the International Cooperative Alliance earlier this month, the day focused on the proved resiliency of cooperatives to Rebuild Better Together. A great example of the power of cooperation can be displayed with this video captured by Olaf Hammelburg, and the work of Connecting Worlds. Although this video is over 10 years old, Tadesse Meskela, former Pachamama Board Member and OCFCU leader, effectively displays how cooperatives can rebuild communities better together. This is a true testament to the power of mutual aid through the cooperative as they work to bring clean water to one of the farming communities. Alone, the community did not have the resources or capital for investment to build this water system, but with the help and cooperation of the collective, the OCFCU brings clean water to the community.
By signing up for our Coffee CSA, you directly support efforts by the cooperatives, like this one, to invest in their communities and farmer families.
Established in 2006, Pachamama is a global cooperative 100% owned by thousands of smallholder farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia. Based in California, Pachamama oversees a roastery, retail cafes and a national wholesale business. Our vertically-integrated business model allows coffee farmers to earn a greater share of the retail value of their roasted coffee, creating a virtuous circle that benefits customers, farmers and the environment.
