Every harvest is difficult. I think if you asked farmers the world over, “What do you wish people knew about farming?” The answer would be, “That it’s BLANK hard.” Fill in the blank accordingly depending on the farmer’s location and what crop they are choosing to grow. A tomato farmer from France might say it’s …
Tag Archives: expats in Burundi
Summer Coffee Camp
This week our annual Coffee Summer Camp came to an end. Our agronomist, Ephapras, was the visionary behind the camp. When he realized that children were not motivated to learn about coffee, he decided to come up with an innovative way to spark their interest. Back in 2015, he came up with the idea of running …
Spes: Burundian Coffee Farmer
Life’s best moments often seem to be tucked deep inside the ordinary ho-hum minutes of our days. On Tuesday, the boys and I gave our turtle Popcorn a bath. His name alone makes me smile- one day Ben went out looking for some popcorn (which he couldn’t find anywhere in town) and came back with …
Elizabeth: Burundian Coffee Farmer
Have you tasted your coffee before? “Yes. It’s disgusting. It tastes like medicine!” What do you hope for your children? “That someday they will have a life outside of poverty.” It’s time for a woman’s voice to echo through this portrait series again. Elizabeth is one of the first farmers I remember meeting. She was …
Charles: Burundian Coffee Farmer
Development begins by picking up a hoe. Without working these fields, we will never move forward. What has made you the happiest in this life? Being taught by my father how to farm. It is what has sustained me. Who is your role model in life? My grandfather. When he left this earth he …
Evariste: Burundian Coffee Farmer
Have you ever tasted coffee? “Today was the first time.” What did you think? “It is very bitter- but I’m glad you see the value in it!” -Evariste During harvest, Evariste walks his coffee cherries 5 kilometers from his home on Musumba hill to our washing station. It’s a long uphill walk to the station. We …