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The strategy for Coffee For Peace includes the promotion
and sales of fully traceable specialty coffee. Through quality
improvement and a targeted export campaign, in which ne-
gotiations are conducted directly with importers and roasters,
we aim to significantly improve the income of coffee farmers.
Coffee For Peace has already been proving its success.
Since its launch, the program has facilitated more than US$ 2
million in export revenues at an average price which is at
least 25 per cent higher than the price for regular non-trace-
able coffee.
Together with the Austrian technology company Crop-
ster, an innovative online trading hub was launched for
specially selected Coffee For Peace micro-lots. Through this
online market place, buyers can establish long-term, direct
relationships with farmers and their primary farmer organi-
zations, all without having to travel, nor require an importer
representative to travel internationally. Especially with the
major threat of COVID-19 this online trading model is resis-
tant to disruption; farmers and their cooperatives can con-
tinue to produce micro-lots and share them with the global
specialty-coffee community through the new platform.
Not too long before the outbreak of COVID-19, we
organized and co-hosted with our Colombian allies two ma-
jor coffee competitions and auctions in the departments of
Antioquia and Cauca. The events featured the combined Photo / Willem Boot
participation of more than 40 cuppers and buyers who tasted
the carefully-selected coffee samples with special COVID-19
safe cupping protocols which aimed at preventing any pos-
sible spread of the virus which had already been looming in
other parts of the world. The newly introduced safe cupping
protocols involved the use of a small, intermediary tasting
cup which is partially filled using the cupping spoon. The
cupper only tastes from this personal intermediary cup and
never from the cupping spoon.
To contain the spread of the virus, the Colombian gov- Ethiopia: Micro-mills for Creating Micro-lots a new concept for the production of specialty coffee in Our micro-mill proposal was accepted and fully funded
ernment has been implementing major restrictions on the Ethiopia. Why not produce Ethiopian micro-lots in spe- by the USAID-financed Feed the Future program which is
mobility of its people. A recent survey, executed by coffee Some years ago, I read the wonderful book Where The cially designed micro-mills that can produce as little as 50 designed to improve the livelihoods of thousands of coffee
trader Caravela Coffee, showed that in some coffee regions Wild Coffee Grows by the American author Jeff Koehler. bags or 3,000 kgs of specialty beans up to 500 bags or 30 farmers in western Ethiopia. The program has a prime focus
a significant drop in production might be expected, simply For his research, the writer lived for quite a while in the metric tons? Traditionally, coffee processing mills in Ethi- on Western Ethiopia and extends from the highlands of Agaro
because of the lack of available labor to harvest the crop. Kaffa area of western Ethiopia, which is presumed to be opia facilitate the production of relatively large volumes and Limu, and the semi-forest farms of Kaffa, to the remote
Despite these challenges faced by coffee growers, the survey the true birthplace of coffee within the Motherland of of coffee, usually 50 metric tons or much more annually. areas of Bench Maji.
concludes with an uplifting message: “It is amazing to see coffee. I felt enthralled by Koehler’s beautiful description In the case of a micro-mill, the locally-produced coffee is More than 50 candidates were selected to receive sup-
how communities and families in Colombia are coming to- of the special connection felt by the people in Kaffa towards processed close to the place where the cherries are har- port for the development of value-added micro-mill coffee
gether to overcome the scarcity of labor that they are facing. ‘buna’, as coffee is called locally, and towards coffee trees vested which provides superior opportunities to separate processing sites. At least 30 micro-mill stations for washed
We can see a huge increase in family members helping with in general. The book also inspired me to reflect on the the coffee on a farmer to farmer basis. On top of that, the coffee and about 20 sites for sundried natural coffee were
the pickings, and people uniting for a common good and help merits of an innovative concept for Ethiopia. Having key-benefit of the micro-mill is also the ability to guaran- built for the program. Qualified producers were not only
coffee farms, to prevent community members from losing learned from my experiences producing micro-lots in tee absolute traceability of the coffee, which is nowadays selected for their motivation to participate in the production
money or coffee.” Panama, I started thinking about the possibility to launch a highly appreciated feature by specialty buyers. of specialty coffee lots but also for their ability to co-invest

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