Friday, December 14, 2007

Why Coffee?


Many people asked me this question when I tell them about the company that I founded while completing my MBA at Regent University in 2006.

Coffee is a big industry. It is the second most traded commodity, oil being the first. Most of oil producers are wealthy and enjoying the benefits of their business. However, coffee is different, 75% of the coffee is produced by poor communities of developing countries. I want to created awareness of this unbalance.

There is not justice in the coffee industry. Of the $3 paid in average for a cup of gourmet coffee only 2 cents goes back to the grower. This is because of the huge gap between the coffee producer and the consumer. Ethnos Coffee works to close this gap. We are working with the Christian organization “Growers First” that actually does community development work among the producers, unlike many of the coffee certification agencies.

God gave us the dream to create Ethnos Coffee and also the responsibility to work on improving the lives of coffee producers. We actually are taking the first steps in extending our work to cocoa and tea producers. We want to work for what is fair for these coffee, cocoa and tea producers. Therefore we promote fair trade. Through Ethnos Coffee projects, we guarantee a Fair Wage to producers.

Another reason of why coffee is to empower disadvantaged communities by creating new markets for them, allowing them to stay in their context. I think we can make a contribution to massive emigration to the big cities or to other countries. God has given peoples of these coffee producing communities, unique talents. We want to help them discover their talents and to become self sustain.

If you are more interested in knowing more about fair trade or our projects, please visit our website at http://www.ethnoscoffee.com/ or post your question or comment on this blog.

Thanks,

Luis Vargas
Founder and CEO
Ethnos Coffee

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