But being a good neighbour also means looking beyond the boundaries of our own village. Because Koffie Kān honours the concept of fair trade, we have sponsored several projects in coffee producing countries, such as an educational project for street children in Columbia and several projects organised for us by Plan International and the Efico Foundation.
Out of respect for our 'distant partners', the men and women who actually grow our coffee, weve developed a series of supporting activities that are peculiar to Koffie Kān.
The finest coffee grows high in the mountains of Central and South America, Kenya and Tanzania, usually on small plantations. The higher the Arabica coffee plant grows, the better the quality of its beans. High grown Arabica yields the most flavoursome and most aromatic coffees. All coffees we use at Koffie Kān are high grown Arabicas from small plantations, with whom we have been working for over 30 years. All these plantations produce premium quality beans, thanks to a thorough quality policy. As a consequence of the stable high quality they deliver, each year they have a guaranteed off take by Koffie Kān. This is part of the responsibility, which Koffie Kān feels it owes its suppliers. And since high quality coffee is being traded at a premium price relative to the quality, they also have a guaranteed price advantage.
For the superior quality which we demand, we are prepared to pay growers more than the normal going rate:
at least 60cnts/pound more than the market price. This way, Koffie Kān helps sustain production methods that yield healthy and good food, and it is operating contrary to the current trend towards large scale and intensive mass production. In doing so, he provides the small coffee farmers with a guaranteed and fair source of income. Every crop again.
