Just Coffee

Dear Friends,

Planet Ark - Gardeners of Eden Project: Fundasaun Harii Au-Metan in collaboration with Just Coffee and Family Farm Defenders is seeking support for its work in sustainable agriculture and Permaculture in East Timor/Timor-Leste!

The ancient gardening traditions of local people have maintained resilient agricultural production systems for several thousand years. These gardeners have resisted the destructive Portuguese and Indonesian colonisations which reduced their forest production base, and have adopted and adapted to the new crops and technologies brought by each period. This project seeks to support the enrichment of the systems that have survived and proven their viability, as well as the introduction of improved intensive poly-cultural systems techniques.

We are now seeking vegetable and fruit seeds for trials, grow out and multiplying, in both coastal lowlands (small urban sites and ‘village farm’ in Dili) and the cooler mountain regions where coffee is the main commercial crop. We have already tested several new varieties of brassica, lettuce and other salad greens with great success, and this year want to expand our trials, as well as the number of families participating in seed multiplication.

Beatrice of Mbwirandumva Initiative has already begun to receive calls inquiring about the purchase of Rwandese coffee through the solidarity page of Just Coffee's website-- thanks for the interest and support!

Just to clarify, Cafe Imanzi is a project in development which we hope will open its' doors later in 2007. At that time, it will be working with other growers co-ops to serve and roast Rwandese coffee locally (Kigali). Although Cafe Imanzi will hopefully eventaully be able to facilitate the sale of Rwandese coffee to individuals internationally, it isn't equipped to do that at the moment.

WE NEED 30 MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN US IN THIS PROJECT. PLEASE READ ON AND CONSIDER DONATING...

The Power of 100
by Cafe Campesino's Tripp Pomeroy