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| Jessica Kroenert learning the coffee-making process in Ocotal. |
Ocotal coffee has found its way to the home of many of El
Sauce’s visitors—the SUNY Geneseo campus. Thanks to the efforts of the EnlaceProject Geneseo club and students Effie Barbagiannis, Jessica Kroenert, and Pat
McCormick, the university’s Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) has begun promoting
and selling the coffee at its Books & Bytes location in the library.
The project began during the summer of 2013 when students
from SUNY Geneseo’s study abroad programs in El Sauce decided that they wanted
to help the farmers expand their market for coffee sales. After interviewing
several of the farmers in Ocotal, Effie, Jessica, and Pat drafted up a proposal
and met with representatives from CAS.
“They were super responsive,” Jessica comments, “after our first
meeting, they figured everything out on their end to make it happen.”
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| One of CAS' promotional advertisments. |
The coffee went on sale towards the end of the month of
February, and CAS has been enthusiastically promoting the product. “Ocotal
Coffee is now available at Books & Bytes. Organic and shade grown, this
coffee is also direct trade which gives the farmers a much fairer price for
their coffee,” says the CAS Facebook page, accompanied by images of many of the
students who have been involved.
To get the coffee on campus, CAS worked with Java Joe, who directly
bought the coffee en oro, or “golden.”
The coffee is shipped up to Rochester, NY, where it is roasted and sold at the
city’s farmer’s market. With the
help of buyers such as CAS, the community of Ocotal hopes that their
partnership with Java Joe will continue for many years. Currently, the next
batch of coffee is being prepared to ship.
Geneseo’s CAS comments, “CAS is
proud to support the farmers from this region through a direct trade
partnership that brings the coffee beans to a local coffee roaster in Rochester
and then to Geneseo, where it is sold at Books & Bytes cafe in Milne
Library. This partnership gives the farmers a much fairer price for their
coffee and brings the campus a high quality, organic coffee directly from Juan,
Fabio, Emiliano and the other farmers in the El Sauce Coffee Co-operative.”
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| Photo by Kris Dreessen, www.krisdreessen.com |
We hope that everyone in the
Geneseo area will give the coffee a try; it’s student-tested and approved!
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