PART 4: Apasionado Coffee - Farmer's Wages & Children's Futures
www.apasionadocoffee.com
Hi Yehuda! Wish we could join you, standing on a mountain hilltop, above the cloud forest with some amazing coffee in hand.
Q: What is the current average wage for a coffee farmer?
A: Wages for coffee farmers vary tremendously, as does the price of coffee since it is sold on the commodity market. However, we pay our farm hands wages that compete with the coca growers [cocaine farms] , along with offering them steady, reliable work in the hopes that we can reduce the numbers of coca farmers, and encourage them to explore growing high-end micro-lot specialty coffee as an alternative.
(Note: Each coffee tree produces about 1-2 pounds of coffee a year!)
Q: What does the future look like for children of coffee farmers?
A: If they plan to carry on as coffee farmers, then global climate change, along with coffee rust, combined with the third wave of craft coffee may have drastically changed the coffee landscape by the time they start farming.
If you are asking about development, all I can say is that we know that we are making a difference because we are providing the coffee farmers who work on our farm with better wages and more knowledge about how to grow and sell coffee differently, which is improving their lives. They are able to buy better food and provide better for the needs of their children, and thus hopefully encourage their children to follow their dreams, including staying in school.
Thank you so much to everyone who joined me on this coffee farm series! And a special thank you to Anthony, Lilo's, nephew who reached out to me to help better connect my readers to life on their coffee farm.
I hope you found the world of a coffee farm as magical and complex as I did! One day, I will take you there ;)
Visit www.apasionadocoffee.com to learn more. As Lilo said, "From your tree to your cup!" Isn’t just our slogan, it’s what we do."
Mugs Up,
The Coffee Nomad