I was with tribal women in Mt. Apo checking on the quality of their coffee cherries.
Our social business is small but its impact is getting bigger.
According to the Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, a social business is “a non-loss, non-dividend company designed to address a social objective within the highly regulated marketplace of today. It is distinct from a non-profit because the business should seek to generate a modest profit but this will be used to expand the company’s reach, improve the product or service or in other ways to subsidize the social mission.”
Some of our partners, investors, observers, and even our critics, are saying that Coffee for Peace (CFP) is getting bigger in its impact. It is addressing the social issues that concerns our farmers, our environment, and the peace situation in our land. These are happening as we advance justice and fairness in the coffee industry.
- The Netherlands-based Business in Development Network listed CFP as one of 16 women-led business in today’s emerging markets. We submitted our business plan in this competition that empowers women entrepreneurs to drive growth. We were warned that the competition would be fierce. There were 752 applications from 115 countries. CFP’s business plan was evaluated by a group of world-class business critics. Their comment on the top 16 entrepreneurs is worth repeating: “While many people talk about the necessity for gender equality and the opportunity to improve societal attitudes to women in emerging markets, the competitors of the Women in Business Challenge are actually doing something about it.”
CFP was featured in the January-February 2013 issue of The Marketplace–the official magazine of the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). They are helping us raise $250,000 to buy land and to construct a warehouse. We want to find investors who would journey with us towards holistic growth.- Other non-government organizations, like the Catholic Relief Services and Kapwa Upliftment, have invited us into their communities to train the coffee farmers in far-flung areas where they do development projects.
- CFP supports the field operations of PeaceBuilders Community as they facilitate peace and inter-faith dialogue between the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
- CFP’s social business philosophy has been replicated in the context of the Bangsamoro culture and society. Datu’s Brew in Cotabato City was conceptualized through a coaching relationship between our leadership and the Bangsamoro women entrepreneurs who dreamed of a coffee shop that advances Maguindanao culture, arts, and history.
- Darnell and Christina Barkman are one of our investors. Their community in Manila, Peace Church Philippines, gathered one night to talk about the Good News of Jesus Christ and how they can proclaim that Good News to farmers and consumers. They decided to write a letter of intent to CFP management to buy and sell our products and hopefully to establish a franchise in Manila.
We invite you to join us at CFP as one of our investors.
:: Your investment will be used by CFP primarily to buy the premium quality coffee beans of the Indigenous People (IP) at fair trade prices. They will then be sold locally and globally at fair trade prices.
:: Your investment will be used to manufacture our locally-designed coffee roasting machines. They will be sold to CFP-trained IP entrepreneurs to help them put up their own coffee roasting business. This will help promote their own tribal coffee brand.
:: Your investment will be used to establish more coffee shops, featuring the other products of IPs who are in partnership with CFP.
As the Indigenous People earn their money through Fair Trade, they will also go through financial management training. And as they grow in managing their cash resources, they will be encouraged to invest in their respective community development needs, like —
:: Establishing their respective Schools of Living Tradition — to preserve and enhance their own cultural traditions and values
:: Establishing Community-Based Health Programs — to address the holistic wellness of their community
:: Establishing Peace and Reconciliation Teams — to address conflicts between families in their tribal community.
I’d be happy to connect with you personally if you’re interested to be our partner at CFP.
Email me: joji@coffeeforpeace.com
