From Left: David Lopez - Coffee Farmer, Greg Ubert – Crimson Cup, Isaac Sanchez – Carpenter, Stephan Erkelens - Axiom Coffee Ventures, LLC
We have a shared vision of making a real difference in our industry: to do right by the smallholders who are equal partners in this endeavor and do right by the consumers who want their purchases to make a real difference.
Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) July 31, 2013
Ohio Coffee Roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is partnering with AXIOM Coffee Ventures, LLC to help lift smallholder coffee farmers out of poverty. The partners are currently working with smallholders in Honduras and Mexico to develop a sustainable coffee harvest and a better quality of life for farmers and their communities.
"As coffee roasters, it’s important for us to protect the integrity of the bean from seed to cup," said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert. “This requires honoring the work of small-plot coffee farmers and ensuring that they receive their fair share of the proceeds from the world’s largest cash crop.”
Crimson Cup has been working with smallholders for several years, traveling to remote villages to consult with farmers on ways to improve coffee quality and donating funds for community improvements. Ubert said he expects the partnership with AXIOM to create broader opportunities to work with smallholders.
AXIOM President Stephan Erkelens, who traces his coffee roots to the 1930's and his grandfather’s Guatemalan coffee business, has worked in all sectors of the industry for more than 20 years. “I’m excited to partner with Greg and the passionate group of coffee buyers, roasters and trainers at Crimson Cup,” he said. “We have a shared vision of making a real difference in our industry: to do right by the smallholders who are equal partners in this endeavor and do right by the consumers who want their purchases to make a real difference.”
In their most recent collaboration, Crimson Cup and AXIOM partnered with community leaders in the Honduran village of El Socorro de la Penita and Ohio State University students on a five-year plan to transform the village into a thriving coffee enterprise. The plan aims to increase co-op cohesion, expand the wet/dry mill capacity, enable access to basic health care and increase the number of students who continue their education past the sixth grade. Crimson Cup and AXIOM will continue working with Ohio State students and the community to implement the plan.
Ubert and Erkelens said they are exploring additional ways to improve living conditions for smallholders. “In this complex $80 billion industry, there’s no justifiable reason for coffee-growing smallholders to suffer in poverty,” Erkelens said. “Quality coffee is in high demand, and consumers are willing to pay a premium price for great coffee that makes a difference.”
About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea
Since 1991, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has roasted great-tasting specialty coffee in Columbus, Ohio and taught independent business owners how to be successful through its coffee shop franchise alternative program. Hand-roasted in small batches, Crimson Cup coffee is available through a network of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 28 states as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Columbus suburb of Clintonville. For more information, visit http://www.crimsoncup.com.
About AXIOM Coffee Ventures
AXIOM Coffee Ventures, LLC is creating a pathway out of poverty for one million smallholder coffee farmers. Axiom connects smallholders with coffee industry enterprises, mission-based organizations and social investors to develop market-based solutions to smallholder poverty. AXIOM shares networks and knowledge so stakeholders can plug into its field-tested approach to transforming smallholder communities from subsistence living to economically sustainable farming enterprises. Engaged at government, regional and community levels, AXIOM is already at work in more than 30 smallholder communities in Honduras and Mexico, with plans to expand into Guatemala and Nicaragua. For more information, visit axiomcoffeeventures.com.