June 22, 2015
Greetings from Mbinga! Today I experienced what is written
in gold all over this region – COFFEE! From what I hear, coffee is like gold to
the farmers in this area. Our morning started at the producer support
organization (PSO) and we gained valuable information about the supply chains
under their management. After a quick lunch at a local spot, we traversed up
the dusty mountain terrain for about an hour until we reached the wet mill
(thank goodness for 4 wheel drive). We spent time speaking to the management of
the wet mill and learned about their structure and the farmers that deliver to
this mill – 231 to be exact. During this interview process, little piggies
wandered around grunting, goats chattered, chickens hopped and some cattle
passed by.
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| 3 little piggies |
We had the privilege of meeting the chairman, treasurer, secretary, and then some. Unfortunately the mill wasn’t operating while we were there as the farmers were concerned about delivering coffee in our presence. We worked with the supplier to extend the message that our program is focused on continuous improvement and we’d like to see them delivering the coffee as the goal is to help improve through the C.A.F.E. Practices model. All of sudden, people began arriving from up and down the hill with their bags of coffee to be reviewed and weighed. I spent some time speaking to the chairman who speaks and understands some basic English…a lovely gentleman. His name is Alto Komba. He welcomed me graciously and we talked about coffee from Tanzania…and in his opinion, the coffee going through his mill is the best.
This was incredibly humbling…to see the people that live on
this mountainside in the comfort of coffee farms and many other crops (wheat,
banana, taro, cassava, sunflower, corn). It’s a far cry from our lives in
Seattle and elsewhere and so interesting to see. Many would smile and wave and
the children were in awe to see visitors like us. My hope is that we set them
at ease rather than making them nervous for an “inspection”. In the end,
through conversations, I think we did. But you never truly know. Life is
different here, I just can’t imagine, but glad I have the opportunity to
witness the life of coffee in Tanzania.
For love of the bean,
Jamie
