This has been a very exciting week for me! Yesterday Buena Beans was the subject of a feature article in the Herald News food section. Read the whole article here.
And then, it got even better. Today we are the subject of a very favorable opinion piece which ends by saying “local companies with social consciences are exactly the type of businesses communities should be supporting.”
Let’s keep the great reviews coming!
Tomorrow is World Population Day, a program of the United Nations’ World Population Fund. This year’s theme is investing in girls’ and women’s education. And it has got me thinking.
Having attended an all-girls school myself from grades 6-12, I have been finely attuned to the cause of women’s education and the power of educating girls in society. While living in Costa Rica, with its notorious social code of machismo, I focused a lot of attention on the messages that my young female students were receiving about their education. In a mostly male environment (about three quarters of my students were boys) the girls were often ignored or passed over in favor of a male student for everything from a raised hand to answer a question to the coveted position of president of the school. Even when this was not the case, and I don’t want to suggest that this was always the case or in any way a deliberate action, girls were taught that their place in society was in the home and caring for a family.
Girls in Costa Rica are groomed from a very young age to take part in the laborious and time consuming act of oficio – housework. Costa Rican society places a high value on order and cleanliness in the home and most women spend several hours a day cleaning their homes. This work is always done in the morning and young girls are not permitted to do anything else until all of the housework is finished. At the same time, the families in my town placed a strong emphasis on education and provided a lot of support at home so that all their children, boys and girls in equal measure, would succeed in school.
My fifteen-year-old host sister serves the perfect example of the conflict in values of women’s role in the family and the importance of education that I witnessed over and over in my small host town. While studying for a test one night, she was called from her room to the kitchen to pour her older brother something to drink while several family members (myself included) were all seated around the kitchen table. In that simple act, she was sent the message that it was more important for her to fulfill her familial duties first, and that studying came second.
On the other hand, more girls finish high school and attend university in Costa Rica than their male counterparts. Where is the balance to actively encourage girls education and success in the public sector and minimize gender stereotypes without undermining the value placed on family and family ties that is the cornerstone of Costa Rican society?
How do we encourage girls’ and women’s education in places where this type of achievement is ultimately in conflict with the basic values of a society? And should we? I believe that we should, but that it is also extremely important to ask the question.
Visit the UNFPA’s World Population Day site to learn more about the global action taking place tomorrow and what you can do to participate.
I’ve just started a discussion on the Buena Beans’ facebook page. I want to hear about what influences your choice when buying coffee. At the grocery store there are always too many choices! Do you buy the same coffee, whatever is on sale? Do you pick up beans at your local coffee shop when you stop in for a cup? Share your thoughts on our facebook discussion page.
Check out this video.
A great article from Zachs.com (an investment research firm) gave me a healthy dose of encouragement that despite the recession, this was good timing to start a new brand of coffee! Not only has demand for specialty coffee not experienced a downturn like most other industries, but it has actually risen! People are drinking the same amount of coffee as always, but are making more coffee at home in an effort to save money. This is great news for Buena Beans, obviously.
The fact that it is specialty coffee specifically also indicates to me that people are starting to care more and more about where their coffee comes from. Over the last few years, and especially due to the focus on fair trade, single origin coffees have become increasingly more popular. Even Starbucks has finally heard the call and has some single-origin specialty brews in certain locations.
This news is really great for coffee farmers, who finally have a chance to make a decent living off the plant that has at certain times in history been as valuable as gold while those who grow it have been relegated to a life of poverty. Coffee impacts people in such a huge percentage of the global south that a rise in the demand for single-origin and high quality coffees means that we are truly at a precipice where coffee drinkers have the power to diminish poverty with every pound they buy responsibly. I’m inspired!
Read the whole report from Zachs here.
Check out what the Specialty Coffee Association of Costa Rica has to say about Cafe La Violeta Don Teofilo Microlot:
ASOCIACION DE AGRICOLTORES DE LA VIOLETA DESAMPARADOS (AGRIVID) – DON TEOFILO
This coffee is cultivated and harvested by Mr. Marco Elizondo Garbanzo, and processed by the Asociación de Agrícultores de la Violeta de Desamparados. A small group of producers from the region forms AGRIVID.
Don Teofilo Estate is produced in the Tarrazú region (Los Santos) in the Tablazo community of Acosta, and is cultivated at an average height of 1.400 meters above sea level, which characterized as SHB quality coffee.
This region maintains an average temperature of 20°C and an annual rainfall of 1.900 millimeters.
Some characteristics of the coffee are its very good fragrance, aroma, body and very defined and marked acidity; it has a citric and chocolaty cup.
Read more about the best boutique coffees of Costa Rica here.
I’m so happy that the site is finally live! Have a look at www.buenabeans.com. You can read all about the inspiration behind Buena Beans and see pictures of the town of La Violeta and my amazing students back in Costa Rica!
It has taken six months, but I’ve finally brought my idea for Buena Beans to fruition. I owe a thank you to the many people who have supported me over the last few months and to everyone who is spreading the word! I can only hope that this thing takes off and I can show up back in La Violeta with a check big enough to finish construction on the school!
Along with the launch of the site, I also attended my first event earlier today and it was a total success! We sold out of 20 lbs of coffee in under 3 hours. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!
Time for a coffee break, but I’ll be posting again soon!
Cheers,
Kate
This is our space on the web to tackle the big questions that we care about here at Buena Beans. Things like coffee, sustainability, and development. Check back soon for my musings on coffee and life.
~Kate
