1. “Sustainability” is an interesting word,and one that is used
all the time when we talk about the coffee industry. But, like many buzzwords, it means
different things to different people. The dictionary defines sustainability as “the quality
of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby
supporting long-term ecological balance.” Most often, in the coffee industry, people use
the term when referring to the farm in the context of our need to help farmers treat the
land in a way that will ensure it can provide future yields. Sometimes sustainability is also
used when referring to work farther up the chain — for example, roasters and retailers
can be encouraged to choose environmentally responsible suppliers and materials,
and recycle their waste to minimize impact. While this is important, I’d argue that
sustainability really does have to begin with the individuals who work in the fields, their
families, and their communities.
Investing in
PeopleRosemary Trent
sustainability
36 The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

2. The key is to think of farm workers and their families as natural
resources worthy of being nourished. In that case, sustainability
requires that those who do the hands-on labor be willing and able
to do their jobs, and that future generations of farm workers be
interested and available to work the land. Just as a roaster needs
good equipment and a coffee shop needs the right coffee, the
right baristas, and the right atmosphere — the coffee farm needs
a healthy, reliable, and knowledgeable workforce to grow the
coffee in the first place. So, when we talk about sustainable coffee
production, shouldn’t we expand the discussion from improving
farms and processes, to what’s needed to sustain the farm workers
and their communities?
The typical rural farm worker earns very little of the coffee’s retail
value — often not even enough to live on. Like most crops, coffee
is seasonal, with one harvest per year lasting just a few weeks —
something most coffee drinkers are unaware of. But the workers
feel this acutely. Often, they are left to rely on the income from this
one harvest to sustain them year-round, exposing their families
to periods of seasonal hunger. What’s more, living in rural coffee
communities often means limited access to education, clean water,
healthcare, and alternative economic opportunities.
Nevertheless, there is much we can do to improve the sustainability
of coffee-farming communities. By supporting coffee workers, their
families, and their localities, we are ensuring the availability of a
healthy, reliable, and knowledgeable workforce in the future. It just
takes some thoughtful investments.
• At the community level, investments in projects like water
and sanitation can lead to a more productive agricultural
base, helping the entire community to stay healthy and
prosper. Collaborating with local government and civil
society to provide clean water and build infrastructure can
contribute substantially to eliminating the many diseases
that sap the energy and productivity of rural farm workers
and their families.
• Investment at the family level is vitally important because
healthy families are the building blocks of a sustainable
local economy. Low-income families whose members are
working as day laborers in the coffee industry need other
economic activities to complement their wages. Getting
the opportunities to learn new skills and access the capital
needed to begin animal husbandry, beekeeping, organic
farming, or other small-scale economic activities, will help
these families survive the lean months when there are no
wages from coffee, and endure the many environmental
stresses these rural communities often face.
• At the individual level, we need to think about investing
in the children. Fewer and fewer young people follow their
parents into coffee farming. Instead, they tend to flee the
poverty of their communities for the city. But, by providing
educational support and health and nutritional safety nets,
we can make a real investment in a sustainable future for
these children. Early childhood development programs,
or projects that help keep children in school (such as
scholarships), or school lunch and agriculture programs,
will help build future generations who have more
opportunities to engage in economic activities. These
strengthen productivity and build the economic capacity
of coffee-farming regions.
Investment in people. It’s a simple, but important, message — one
that often gets lost in the bigger discussion around the specialty
coffee industry. That’s why events like the Specialty Coffee
Association of America’s Annual Exposition and Symposium are so
important. They provide a perfect way to build relationships in the
industry all along the supply chain, and to reinforce the message that
coffee-growing communities — the workers and their families — need
support to remain sustainable. The SCAA Event creates direct links
between the organizations working with the families in coffee-growing
communities and the people who have the most to gain from ensuring
the sustainability of those communities. By bringing the larger coffee
community together with civil society, we are making a difference,
and we are making an investment in the future of the specialty coffee
industry.
All around the world, we awaken to the wonderful aroma of that first
cup of coffee. Coffee keeps us focused and motivated throughout
the day. In coffee shops, we work, read, and socialize over coffee. It is
paramount that all of us remember that, way down at the very start of
the coffee supply chain, a human being is tending next year’s coffee
crop — and, more often than not, that person is struggling to feed a
family. For that person, sustainability means being able to provide for
their family while investing in the future. For the coffee industry, it
means having a healthy, reliable, and knowledgeable workforce getting
the crop to the cup.
Rosemary Trent, executive director of Pueblo a Pueblo, leads a team committed to improving the lives of indigenous Guatemalan women and
children. Over the last four years, she has created and grown successful grassroots programs that partner with local schools to provide access
to education, health care, improved nutrition, and food security in coffee-growing communities. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
Meet current
and past
Sustainability
Award winners
by visiting
scaa.org/awards
The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 37