Category: Resilience

52. Disasters cause more than $100 million in coffee losses in Guatemala

2010-06-02 Comments Off on 52. Disasters cause more than $100 million in coffee losses in Guatemala

The National Coffee Association here in Guatemala today said that the eruption of the Pacaya Volcano and Tropical Storm Agatha — two natural disasters that hit Guatemala last week — together will reduce coffee exports in 2010-2011 by 121.9 million pounds. By my calculations, that is more than $100 million in lost coffee revenues for Guatemalan farmers.

51. Guatemala gets pounded (again)

2010-06-01 Comments Off on 51. Guatemala gets pounded (again)

Last Thursday, the Pacaya Volcano erupted. Then the next day, Tropical Storm Agatha rolled in, destroying lives, homes, bridges, roads and — yes — coffee. The storm is a reminder that all the hard work of smallholder farmers to produce high-quality coffees for the discerning specialty market can be swept away overnight.

47. “Getting to yes” (and beyond price and quality)

2010-05-20 Comments Off on 47. “Getting to yes” (and beyond price and quality)

I read the bestselling book Getting to Yes for a course in negotation I took during graduate school.  I don’t recall the book’s nuances, but some of its core principles have stuck with me, like moving beyond a party’s position to explore its underlying interests, and inventing new fields of engagement in which win-win solutions […]

46. How far can quality take a trading relationship?

2010-05-17 Comments Off on 46. How far can quality take a trading relationship?

For smallholder farmers, getting to the outer bounds of the quality spectrum — and staying there — is hard work. The marginal return on that effort — especially in a high market — may be negligible. So while we continue to promote a holistic approach to quality from the seedling to the mill, we are also continually asking ourselves how far to ride the wave of upward pressure on quality coming from the market end of the chain.

45. What are coffee companies investing in at origin?

2010-05-13 Comments Off on 45. What are coffee companies investing in at origin?

Over the past week and a half, I have been posting on the issue of how coffee companies are investing at origin.  Today: what they are investing in, and how that may be changing.

44. Bridging the gap between coffee and development

2010-05-11 Comments Off on 44. Bridging the gap between coffee and development

The most important divide in the discussion around coffee and development is the gap between coffee chain issues (productivity, quality, etc.) and issues that arise from beyond the coffee chain. The issue that bridges the gap? The price companies pay for their coffee.

43. Sustainability and the Coffee Quality Diploma

2010-05-06 Comments Off on 43. Sustainability and the Coffee Quality Diploma

In my last post, I shared some reflections on my recent discussions with diverse coffee industry stakeholders regarding the ways coffee companies are investing at origin.  I did not mean to suggest that coffee companies are struggling to find their way while established development agencies like ours have it all figured out.  In fact, even […]

41. How should coffee companies invest at origin?

2010-05-03 Comments Off on 41. How should coffee companies invest at origin?

Over the the past few months, I have found myself talking with a broad range of stakeholders in the specialty coffee industry about how coffee companies are investing at origin. Here are some reflections on what I am hearing in those discussions and seeing in the field, and some ideas about the directions in which industry engagement in the coffeelands may be moving.

39. Climate change and the “core business model”

2010-04-26 Comments Off on 39. Climate change and the “core business model”

I met at SCAA with Thanksgiving Coffee President Ben Corey-Moran, who explained that the company will be focusing more moving forward on its “core business model.” As it turns out, his concept of the company’s core business model includes innovative partnerships with NGOs in East Africa to create incentives for effective climate change mitigation and adaptation. It seems the concept of the “core business model” in the coffee industry may be evolving.

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