CAFÉ RWANDA - HELPING REBUILD A NATION, ONE CUP AT A TIME
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Ancora Coffee Roasters in Madison, WI announces a new program
benefiting the lives of Rwandan genocide survivors.
CAFÉ RWANDA - HELPING REBUILD A NATION, ONE CUP AT A TIME
Members of the U.S. Specialty Coffee Industry Unite with the
Freeplay Foundation to Empower Rwandan Coffee Farmers and
Their Communities with the Gift of Education.
For more information, please contact:
Matt Petersen
Director of Marketing
Ancora Coffee Roasters, Inc.
tel: 608.255.2900
web: www.ancoracoffee.com
“CAFE RWANDA” — HELPING REBUILD A NATION, ONE CUP AT A TIME Members of
the U.S. Specialty Coffee Industry Unite with the Freeplay Foundation
to Empower Rwandan Coffee Farmers and Their Communities with the Gift
of Education
Madison, WI, March 28, 2006 — Prior to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, a
three-month long massacre that claimed the lives of more than one
million people, the primary cash crop and heartbeat of the Rwandan
economy was a vibrant coffee trade of Arabica beans. In 1990
Rwandan farmers exported 45,000 tons of coffee per year. Over a decade
later, this predominately agricultural nation and its more than 450,000
coffee farmers exported less than 15,000 tons. Still reeling from the
devastation of genocide, Rwanda’s survivors (mainly widows and
children) are faced with the enormous challenge of rebuilding their
nation. It is in honor of the Rwandan farmers’ great courage and
perseverance that Ancora Coffee Roasters is launching its “Cafe Rwanda”
program in support of the Coffee Lifeline project in Rwanda.
Beginning in April 2006, Ancora Coffee Roasters will donate $1 for
every pound sold of its critically acclaimed Rwanda A1 Gikongoro
Bufcafe coffee towards the funding of self-powered Freeplay Lifeline
radios and educational programming for the Coffee Lifeline
project. Ancora’s coffees are available nationwide through its
network of over 300 independent coffeehouses and online at www.ancoracoffee.com.
The Coffee Lifeline project was conceived in 2002 by Peter Kettler, a
U.S. based specialty coffee importer, who brought his idea to the
Freeplay Foundation. The innovative project seeks to empower coffee
farmers in producing countries by utilizing the Freeplay Foundation’s
self-powered Lifeline radios to provide access to information and
education in isolated rural areas. With almost 100,000 Lifelines
currently benefiting an estimated 2 million villagers in 20 countries,
the radios have proven to dramatically benefit people’s lives by
enabling access to vital news sources, educational curricula,
agricultural and health information, and financial and governance
issues. The radios do not require batteries or electricity, but operate
using patented wind-up technology and solar-powered mechanisms.
According to Kettler, “A little more than a decade ago, Rwanda’s acting
government used radios as an effective tool to help spread the genocide
in that country. Today, through the Coffee Lifeline project, radios are
being used to reverse much of the hatred and distrust that still
lingers from that tragic period. Each Lifeline radio, shared within a
listening group of 20-30 people, enables farmers to tune into
broadcasts containing coffee market and technical information, weather
forecasts, and HIV/AIDS education as well as programs dealing with
women’s health issues and atdistance learning classes directed at
orphans. Although there are many worthwhile development projects that
the Specialty Coffee industry can be proud of, the Coffee Lifeline
project is unique in that it empowers farmers to help shape their own
future through access to information and education. This is not a
‘hand-out’, but a ‘hand-up’.”
The weekly Coffee Lifeline radio broadcasts will be delivered in
Rwanda’s native Kinyarwanda language, and are being developed in
conjunction with Radio Salus, a new radio broadcasting facility
associated with the National University of Rwanda.
Since Ancora led the U.S. launch of Rwandan specialty coffees in the
spring of 2004, this exceptional coffee origin has become one of the
most electrifying and talked-about topics in the market. Industry
giants Starbucks and Green Mountain have recently started promoting
Rwandan offerings of their own and Ancora’s Rwanda A1 Gikongoro Bufcafe
received one of the highest ratings of 2005 by Coffee Review. “It
didn’t take long for the coffee world to recognize what they have in
the Rwanda origin”, says Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports, a pioneering
importer of Rwandan coffees in North America. The key to this success,
according to Johnson is that “The farmers started producing at the
highest level. Because of the war and circumstances they were
overcoming, total commitment to quality was vital to reestablishing a
coffee trade and providing for their families.”
When introduced to Coffee Lifeline, “we knew this was a tremendous
opportunity for Ancora to make a real impact in the lives of Rwandan
coffee farmers,” says Sue Lobeck-Krug, coowner of Ancora. “What excited
us was the true ‘ground-floor’ nature of the project. Our ‘Cafe Rwanda’
donation program is full circle. It connects someone enjoying a cup of
outstanding Rwanda coffee, directly to the Rwandan families farming the
land. Ancora’s goal is to get radios in the hands of at least 50 more
listening groups and help fund the Coffee Lifeline broadcasts
throughout 2006.”
“We applaud Ancora’s ‘Cafe Rwanda’ program in support of Coffee
Lifeline,” said Kristine Pearson, executive director of the Freeplay
Foundation. “Hundreds of thousands of Rwandan coffee farmers are
working hard to revitalize their industry. This important
contribution from Ancora Coffee Roasters and its customers will enable
coffee growers to make informed decisions as they rebuild a staple
industry of the Rwandan economy.”
Ancora Coffee Roasters is a premier specialty coffee roaster, retailer
and distributor located in Madison, Wisconsin. Ancora's Small Batch
Artisan Roasted ® coffee beans are sold to independent coffeehouses and
finer restaurants across the country, and are available for consumer
purchase at Ancora's three retail locations in Madison or online at www.ancoracoffee.com.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
1. Freeplay Foundation – The Freeplay Foundation is a registered
charity in the U.S., U.K., and South Africa. Its mission is to
enable access to information and education to the most vulnerable
populations via sustainable technologies, particularly the self-powered
Lifeline radio. In 2001, the Foundation was the first winner of
Silicon Valley’s Tech Museum Award for Technology Benefiting Humanity,
and in 2005 the executive director, Kristine Pearson, was awarded the
James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, sponsored by tech giant
Applied Materials. Academy Award winner Tom Hanks serves as the
Foundation’s American Ambassador, while famed humanitarian and former
hostage Terry Waite serves as European Ambassador. http://www.freeplayfoundation.org
2. PEARL Project – PEARL is a partnership comprised of USAID, Michigan
State University, Texas A&M University and the National University
of Rwanda that collaborates with almost 15,000 coffee farmers and has
achieved impressive results since 2001 in revitalizing the coffee
sector. PEARL works with grower cooperatives on the production and
marketing of specialty coffee, chili peppers and cassava products, and
with Rwandan agricultural institutions to rebuild their educational and
research capacities. http://www.pearl.org.rw
3. East African Fine Coffees Association – Association of coffee
producers, processors, marketing people and organizations in the ten
Eastern and Southern African countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic
Republic of Congo as well as others from outside Africa. http://www.eafca.org
4. Specialty Coffee Association of America – Industry trade association of specialty coffee merchants in the United States. http://www.scaa.org
5. Coffee Review – Leading, independent coffee review and buyer’s guide organization led by editor/writer Kenneth Davids. http://www.coffeereview.com
