When we sip on a nice, warm cup of coffee, we don’t often stop to think about what it took that get that coffee into our hands.
Here are a few things you may not know about the coffee industry:
- The land available for growing coffee is declining, yet coffee consumption is rising at an incredible rate while.
- Coffee is produced almost exclusively in developing countries.
- The average age of a coffee farmer is 56 and rising, and most farmers and their families face extreme poverty.
- The coffee market is also very volatile, which is good for speculators and professional traders, but often bad for the growers themselves.
There’s also a growing gender equality issue: Women—in addition to home keeping responsibilities—perform up to 80% of the field labor for coffee, but do not participate in the decision making for the local cooperatives that supply to the global market.
On the Ground—A non-governmental organization (NGO)—is trying to change that. Their mission is to improve the lives of the people in the communities where coffee is grown.
One of their main projects right now is to raise awareness about gender equity issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where some of the world’s best coffee is grown.
According to On The Ground’s Nick Beadleston, the community would like to get more decision-making and money into women’s hands. They say women are more likely to spend money on family while men are more likely to spend on drinking and gambling.
To reach their goal, On the Ground partners with locals in the Congo to provide gender equality training, educational programming, and training to help women diversify their income streams.
Nick Beadleston shared the story of NEEMA, an orphan who would walk seven kilometers each day to get to work. Nick said On The Ground provides Neema with job training and education that will allow her to live on her own and not depend on others.
Thanks for the very interesting and informative presentation, Nick!
