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202. CAFE Livelihoods draws to a close

2011-09-30 Comments Off on 202. CAFE Livelihoods draws to a close

Today, the CAFE Livelihoods project that I have been working on in one capacity or another since late 2007 draws to a close.  As we prepare the final project report in the coming weeks, I will share some of the more notable project outcomes here.  Meantime, I want to thank everyone who contributed to the project’s successes: thousands of determined smallholder farmers, dozens of grassroots farmer organizations, a tireless team of CRS and partner staff, and the impressive list of industry partners and allies below.

Each organization on this list contributed to the success of the CAFE Livelihoods project — and the improvement of smallholder farmer livelihoods.  For some of you, it meant buying more coffee.  For others, paying premiums for coffee that met established quality standards.  Or renegotiating prices when coops made the mistake of fixing them on the eve of a market rally.  Or visiting cooperatives that had never hosted a coffee buyer.  Or providing training to participating cooperatives (often without any financial support from the project).  Or extending credit.  Or investing in community development projects that have nothing to do with coffee.  Or spending time on the phone with me sharing your ideas, hopes or hard-earned wisdom.  Each of these elements contributed in some way to the project’s success.

For the countless ways you contributed to CAFE Livelihoods, and on behalf of the farmers and cooperatives that benefitted from those contributions, I want to thank: