Better Access Helps Samuel Lift Himself From Poverty

74 year-old Samuel knows his ‘why’, the driving reason behind his farming. Originally from Gikungere Hill in the landlocked African nation of Burundi, Samuel is also a father to nine children and a grandfather 16 times over! ⁠

A lot about coffee farming has changed since Samuel starting growing back in 1968, particularly the effect the changing climate has on growing conditions. He recalls how much better the soil was, how consistently higher the yields were. Now, he experiences the same cyclical low harvest, high harvest, low harvest, high harvest that is so common for coffee growers today. ⁠

⁠But Samuel also noticed good changes, like seeing farmers—including himself—gain access to washing stations. At that time, they processed coffee at home using two stones for pulping and handmade mats for drying. Effective, but time-consuming and it limits the output.

When these wash stations finally became operational there were too few to accommodate the many coffee farmers in the region. Samuel can’t forget the time that he delivered cherries to a station and spent a week waiting there until his cherries turned the right color.⁠

Samuel would ask people to deliver his cherries to Bukeye Washing Station as his age was making the trek harder every year. Today, Samuel has better access to a much closer wasing station, meaning he continues to provide for his family through coffee farming.⁠

This end of year, we’re teaming up with Long Miles Coffee to help farmers like Samuel continue to grow their business and continue improving their overall economic security in an often volatile and unpredictable part of the world. $50 covers the costs of high quality inputs like seed and fertilizer that will give Samuel a 3-4x larger harvest—that much more income for his growing family!

Please consider sponsoring a family (or ten!) this end of year, and thanks for always showing up for farmers!