A groundbreaking fair trade project has taken root in Suffolk to empower coffee farmers in rural East Africa.
Believed to be a ‘world first’ link between consumer and crop, the scheme aims to give coffee lovers a clear conscience by allowing them to buy beans picked from their own tree in Kenya.
Suffolk company Paddy & Scott’s is hoping to cause a ‘coffee revolution’ with the new venture, by giving customers the chance to invest in one of 4,000 allocated membership plots on its Muchomba Farm estate.
In development for the last year, the initiative launched this week for the Christmas gift market.
Chief executive of the firm, founded in Earl Soham 10 years ago, Scott Russell said: “The only real way to help the coffee families, and the wider community, is to go straight to the source and pay more for the raw product. So, we started a mission to cut out the middle men.”
The Muchomba family farm is based in Meru, on the eastern side of Mount Kenya, where the workers are paid a fair wage and benefit from local investment.
The ‘Farm Membership’ scheme will allow subscribers to visit the farm, meet George Muchomba’s family, and even tend their tree.
Mr Russell said: “We are excited about our coffee tree membership program, allowing customers the opportunity to experience the harvest and enjoy exclusive Paddy & Scott’s coffee delivered personally to their door from our coffee farm.
“With updates on production throughout the year, membership will also, most importantly, help support the Meru farming community welfare.”
Included in membership is a farm pass card, tree plot number and entry into a competition to win a trip to Kenya, where Paddy & Scott’s also supports development of the Meru Community Farm Project and Field Training School for children to learn coffee farming methods.
Mr Russell said: “Our mission was to really be involved with the local community and redress the shameful way coffee farmers are paid so very little for their harvest.
“We wanted to help George Muchomba and his family create a model farm that channelled a larger proportion of what you pay for your cup of coffee back to the farm.”
For full details on the Farm Membership scheme, visit paddyandscotts.co.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here