Since working with the San Pedro Coffee Farm, we have checked up with them to find out the progress of their coffee processing. They were able to purchase the coffee depulper, however have not yet used their processing equipment. During the upcoming harvest season in December, we will be returning to the coffee farm to see how the equipment works and to further consult the coffee farm.
San Pedro Coffee Farm - Panama
Submitted by lopezvanessa on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 22:27
the problem:
The San Pedro Coffee Farm is located in the community of Tambo, about half an hour from Penonomé, in the province of Coclé in Panama. The San Pedro Farm is collectively run by 7 families. The farm produces about 550 gallons/year of unprocessed beans, buys about 500 additional gallons from nearby farms and sells to several of Panama’s national coffee roasters. Coffee production is labor and resource intensive, and although the farm has a secure market, the price of unprocessed beans is a poor return to labor, and farmers’ incomes remain low. The farm is one of the sustainable farms supported by the Panamanian organization Patronato de Nutrición (Trustees of Nutrition), a non-profit land trust that combats poverty and hunger by promoting sustainable agriculture. The Patronato’s vision is “to organize and train subsistence farmers in organizations, credit unions of producers, capable of producing with efficiency in a sustainable method, the food that may guarantee a proper daily intake to their families, with surplus in the production to achieve income that may allow them to improve their quality of life.” The organization currently has around 300 farms in operation in Panama. Typically, Patronato de Nutrición purchases land in rural Panama, and enlists 3-4 families in the community to farm and develop the land. Each farm is administered by a member of the organization, who guides the families on agricultural production techniques and best practices. Patronato de Nutrición aims to make the farming family self sufficient and also have the opportunity to generate income so that they can take complete ownership of the land. The San Pedro farm has begun production of their Coffee Farm and is now looking for ways to make their coffee bean process more efficient. Patronato de Nutrición does not have the business expertise to guide the family, and are looking to collaborate with University of Washington students to develop a model that can be implemented on the San Pedro farm, as well as on other Patronato farms in Panama.
vital stats:
people impacted:
38people involved:
16why it's important:
The University of Washington Panama Business Brigade offers the opportunity for students to apply their education in solving real world problems while enabling underdeveloped communities to achieve their goals. A team of students of diverse backgrounds will participate in extensive planning and development throughout the next quarter on the San Pedro Coffee Farm project and collaborate with the community to implement their work during a trip to the region. We believe that our brigade will not only enrich the lives of the community members, but those of the students as well by bridging cultures and encouraging global citizenship, and building long-term relationships. We hope that this endeavor, with the combination of work experience and cultural exchange, will lead to the personal and professional development of all students involved. In Panama, we will be working to educate community farmers at the San Pedro Coffee Farm on farm enterprise topics, implementing sustainable strategies to add value to their raw beans. By teaching the farmers about important farm enterprise topics, we will be giving them the ability to create sustainability for their own farm and pass this knowledge on to other farmers in the region. Through workshops on a variety of farm enterprise topics, research on the improvement of coffee quality, creating and teaching the farmers about marketing tactics, we hope to increase the standard of living and micro-enterprise knowledge of the San Pedro Coffee Farmers. The eagerness of the San Pedro Coffee Farm community coupled with the optimal location of the farm and the motivation of all stakeholders – our partners in Panama and our team – indicate great potential for the project. Through consistent communication, a developed system of monitoring progress and frequent trips to the region, we aim to ensure the sustainability of the project.
the plan of action:
Global Business Brigades (GBB) is a socially conscious network of volunteers that bring business skills and a passion for change to developing communities around the world. GBB is currently focused in Central America, in some of the poorest communities in the western hemisphere. The secular organization empowers college students with the material, know-how, and support to assess and deliver sustainable micro-enterprise solutions to impoverished villages. A group of students at the University of Washington created a GBB chapter in the Spring of 2008, offering students the opportunity to apply their education in solving real world problems while enabling underdeveloped communities to achieve their goals. Each school year, a team of students of diverse backgrounds participate in extensive planning and development on a project of their choice provided from a list of approved projects by GBB staff in Central America. Dependant on the scope and planning needed for the project, the team selects a 1 week period during one of the school breaks for the project implementation: Winter Break, Spring Break or Summer Break. The first project was led by a group of 13 students during September 2008; providing business development strategies to two microenterprises in Honduras. Our next project, led by 16 students, will be to educate a coffee farm in Panama on farm enterprise topics, implementing sustainable strategies to add value to their raw beans. The Brigade has been created with the aspiration to become a significant part of the University of Washington community, and send large (30+) groups of students to Central and South America on frequent service trips to develop and implement 2-4 year projects. With our second trip during our Spring Break of 2009, we aim to lay the groundwork and define future goals for our new coffee farm project in Panama. As more business courses focus on the importance of corporate social responsibility, we hope to be able to expand our GBB program on campus, and give more students the opportunity to start practicing CSR. By allowing students the ability to practice their business knowledge in a socially responsible way, we hope to empower students to carry this mindset with them when they enter the business community after graduation. Now more than ever, as we are experiencing budget cuts throughout our university in important educational programs, we want to show that students are still compassionate in giving back to the community. We have found our education to be a monumental part of our experience and growth as individuals and students and we only hope to share our knowledge with those who don’t have access to the resources we do. With the support of University of Washington staff and faculty, Global Business Brigades liaisons, and our partner organization Patronato de Nutrición (Trustees of Nutrition) in Panama, we have a strong team of advisors to support our endeavors and ensure the success of the students involved; the community in Panama; and the program as a whole.
how you can get involved:
Global Business Brigades has a base in Panama, with the infrastructure in place to support all program logistics. Our trip planned for the Spring Break of 2009, in which we will be implementing our research of coffee farming into the San Pedro farm’s current coffee production process and teaching farmers about standard business practices such as accounting and marketing. We hope to return to the same area for a period of 2-4 years, to complete our short term and long term goals for the project. In order to create a sustainable project for students to be able to participate over the long-run, we are seeking grants and scholarships to help subsidize the costs for our team to participate in this project. By subsidizing these costs, we are hoping to maintain a core team of students who will be able to carry forward the project in the following years to come. Each student is responsible for the $850 program fee, which includes $100 to use towards our community investment fund, and pays for all lodging, food, transportation and other costs in Panama. Each student is also responsible for airfare, which is approximately $880. With our group of 16 students for our first trip, our total project budget amounts to $27,680. To date, we have raised $5,180 through personal contributions and donations; leaving our remaining amount to fundraise at $22,500. As we continue to fundraise for our next brigade, any small contribution will be of great help.
project updates:
08/03/2009
Related Projects
Feeding/Bringing Clothes to the Homeless in St. Petersburg
The community I am trying to help is the local...
Related Guides
Tips and Tools:
Meet Do Something Awards Semi-Finalist Brandan Odums
This Hurricane Katrina survivor uses short films...
Action Guides:
Action Tips: Compile a Responsible Shopping Guide for Your Town
Create a guide to distribute in school or within...
