Getting Ready

My departure date is rapidly approaching. It's the mad dash to complete paperwork, shots, and purchases. My time is awash in checklists. There's the official Volunteer Pre-Departure Checklist. There's the Medical/Immunizations checklist. There's the What to Buy checklist. There's the What I Need to Get Done at Work Before I Go checklist. There's the Get Your Finances in Order checklist. And then there's the packing... that requires several checklists of it's own. I'm fortunate to know someone on the ground there in Kigali. Chris and Taya have been in-country now for more than six months. They have figured out how to get around and how to find the comforts of home. Chris and I worked together on projects at Starbucks. From coffee tastings in Seattle to starting up a roasting plant in Amsterdam to building a team at the coffee trading company in Switzerland. And soon, to be working with coffee farmers in Africa. We have worked our way up the supply chain. I am looking forward to working for him. At this point I wonder will I get it all done. In a few more days it will all be done and my adventure will begin.

Welcome to my Africa Adventure

Welcome! This blog chronicles my adventures working with coffee farmers in Africa. Starting in January I will be traveling to Kigali, Rwanda to join a team working with coffee farmer across East Africa. I will be working with an NGO called TechnoServe. TechnoServe is launching a coffee initiative in East Aftica that aims to help one million smallholder coffee farmers increase their incomes via impovements in the qualityf and quantity of coffee they produce. Farmers will learn how to process their coffee using wet mills, receive agronomy training and then assess its quality. Ultimately, the goal is for farmers to have more coffee to sell at higher prices, thus doubling their incomes. Watch this space and follow my adventure.