There’s a new coffee available in Paris with an incredible story behind it. It’s an exceptionally high-quality coffee from South Sudan, made from a rare variety of robusta beans, full of flavour and produced using a method that’s new to the area. It is the first coffee to be exported from the new country of South Sudan and it is the country’s first significant export other than oil to Europe.
This coffee – called Suluja ti South Sudan – is being brought to the market by Nespresso. Together with its non-profit organisation partner TechnoServe, Nespresso is helping South Sudanese farmers revive the country’s coffee industry. This is one of the only places in the world where wild coffee grows. South Sudan’s established coffee industry was destroyed following the country’s civil war, but the conditions – soil, climate and quality of coffee bean – still exist. It is hoped that the positive impact of a revitalised coffee industry will contribute to the economic opportunities the country needs to build an enduring peace.
On this site you can find out more about the work that Nespresso is doing to create sustainable, high-quality coffee in South Sudan and across the world.
Coming up, there will be articles that cover practical and business issues involved with coffee growing – from establishing sustainable infrastructures to the benefits of being involved in a coffee co-operative. We will explore the farming methods that are helping to develop the coffee industry and hear from a leading agronomist about her experiences of returning to South Sudan to re-build this industry.
Coffee farmers around the world
Of course, coffee is grown in many other places – Nespresso works with some 63,000 farmers in 11 coffee-producing countries – and is increasingly in demand.
This site includes information about how coffee farmers in other parts of the world are working with Nespresso to produce great quality coffee under sometimes challenging circumstances.
In Colombia, for instance, Nespresso, Fairtrade International and the government are working together to help smallholder farmers with a retirement savings scheme. Succession planning is a challenge as many farmers do not have access to pensions and the younger generation has had to look outside farming for employment. Now, with the launch of this retirement savings initiative, there are opportunities for young people in coffee-producing regions.
On this site, there is also information about Nespresso’s direct-from-farmer sourcing model, the AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program. Developed in 2003 in collaboration with NGO the Rainforest Alliance, this program shares many of the same goals and principles as other responsible sourcing programmes.
However, in addition to sustainability criteria, the AAA Program adds quality and productivity dimensions to sustainability. It incorporates 296 Sustainable Agriculture Network criterion as well as country-specific standards set by Nespresso addressing local agricultural practices, coffee processing and harvesting to ensure the supply of highest quality coffee while protecting the natural environment and improving the livelihoods of coffee farmers and their communities.
The coffee you drink every morning provides a living for millions of people. Nespresso is helping ensure that these livelihoods are sustainable and that coffee growing has a positive impact on the communities where it is produced.
