Starbucks – Blending Coffee with Conservation
Starbucks – Blending Coffee with ConservationIs African coffee strong enough to make it in the global marketplace? Just ask Starbucks. Arguably, the best quality Arabica coffee on earth grows in east Africa’s volcanic soils – coffee so good, it is often blended with lesser beans to boost their favor. So when a new law propositioned that Kenya’s coffee growers sell their coffee beans directly to the market, AWF jumped on the opportunity. A couple of years later, AWF is helping local growers produce coffee for Starbucks.
A Boon for People and WildlifeFor the people of the Kilimanjaro and Samburu Heartlands, growing and marketing coffee in an international marketplace is a chance to secure a better livelihood for farmers, slow the destruction of the Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro forests, secure critical watersheds, protect elephant corridors, and reduce human-wildlife conflict.