Root Capital was established in 1999 to serve the grassroots enterprises that occupy the “missing middle” of financial markets in less-developed countries: they are too big for microfinance organizations and perceived as too small and risky by commercial banks. The organization’s success suggests that the scope of the need and opportunity in the missing middle […]
My first job with CRS back in 2002 was a one-year fellowship. I was one of 15 fellows who were assigned to different countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. I didn’t know it at the time, but my assignment to the Philippines was a lucky break: there I worked with Paul Hicks, who has […]
The eminent James Hoffman recently published a post suggesting we have underestimated the importance of water in the coffee process. I agree with the sentiment entirely, but for very different reasons.
Since early August, I have published at least one post per week on the relationship between coffee and water resources. In several of those posts I have made mention of coffee’s “water footprint” without much exploration of the concept. According to this excellent study, coffee’s water footprint is 140 liters (or 37 gallons) per cup. […]
I have been writing this summer on the relationship between coffee and water resources in the coffeelands — a sleeper issue that hasn’t attracted as much attention among the coffee industry’s sustainability leaders as poverty, hunger, biodiversity conservation, and other pressing issues. But that may be changing. Ben Corey-Moran, president of specialty coffee pioneer Thanksgiving […]
There are many water-efficient technologies currently in use by farmers selling their coffee into specialty markets. And there are some good reasons why there is still a relatively modest embrace of those technologies. What will it take for more farmers to “blue” their post-harvest processes?
Today I resume this summer’s series on coffee and water resource management with a question: If there are affordable technologies out there that have a smaller water footprint than traditional wet mills, why aren’t they more widely used? Here are some ideas.
In the search for technologies that can reduce the water footprint of coffee, we may not have to look too far.
I am writing this month about a coffee-water paradox in the coffeelands that I think has at least three dimensions. The first one is this: coffee farming may represent the leading (licit) livelihood option for farmers in the highlands, but it is a drain on scarce water resources and a leading source of water contamination […]
Earlier this week, I suggested that there is a coffee-water paradox in the coffeelands. Any effort to foster a sustainable solution must begin by answering the following four questions: How much does coffee wastewater contribute to water pollution in Central America? What are the best technologies available to reduce coffee’s water footprint? What are they […]
