Coffee Circle Foundation project selection 2024

Thanks to the donation of €1 per kilogram of coffee sold, which you support with your purchase from us, we are constantly raising funds in our Coffee Circle Foundation e.V. to support social projects in coffee-growing countries. Our largest project is the WaSH and biodiversity project, which is implemented by our partners in the Limu region of western Ethiopia. We also finance projects in Congo, Kenya and Colombia and support general coffee research by World Coffee Research.

At the end of 2023, we launched the Coffee Circle Vision Fund for the first time with a total budget of €500,000. The call for proposals was aimed at coffee communities in all coffee-growing countries worldwide. The project proposals had to correspond to our values and the three most important criteria in the area of sustainability:

1. People: Improving livelihoods
2. Planet: Sustainable use of natural resources
3. Profit: Shaping the market through advocacy and influence

To get maximum reach into the coffee communities, to handle the applications and make a proper selection, we teamed up again with wonderful Sara and Cristina from our long-term partner Vuna Origin Consulting. All of us were delighted with the high number of projects submitted. We received a total of 116 applications. It was a great success that our call attracted so much interest. The diagram shows an overview of the areas from which the submitted project ideas originate.

In order to evaluate the applications, the following two main criteria were examined in the first step: Firstly, we looked at how well the application strategy aligned with Coffee Circle’s vision and goals. Secondly, we assessed how convincingly the project management was outlined. Particular focus was placed on the following points: the budget size, the expected impact, the number of people reached by the project and the sustainability of the project. After a comprehensive analysis of all applications received, we invited the 12 most promising candidates to individual meetings. The purpose of these meetings was to get to know the partners and their project ideas better and to clarify any open questions. Based on all the information gathered, we finally jointly selected the following six projects.

Bean Voyage:

The NGO Bean Voyage supports women farmers in building successful businesses on their own. The motto is „Women Powered Coffee“. The selected female producers go through a multi-stage incubator program. As part of the program, they receive training, access to capital, mentorship and connections to potential buyers. Bean Voyage is currently focusing on Costa Rica and Mexico. Thanks to the support of the Coffee Circle Foundation, Bean Voyage can include more female producers in its program and also expand it to the first region in Colombia.

Muraho Trading:

The young coffee company Muraho Trading supports the coffee washing stations of farmers in Rwanda and exports its high-quality coffee. Muraho uses the funds to improve the living conditions of the coffee communities through training, better equipment and sustainable cultivation methods. In addition, tree nurseries are to be established and young coffee plants distributed. Special emphasis is also placed on sustainability. Targeted training in households aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly cultivation practices.

South India Coffee Company (SICC):

SICC operates a fifth-generation coffee farm and acts as a coffee exporter. Its field research into alternative coffee species to Arabica and Robusta is particularly interesting. In view of increasing climate change, these two species could come under pressure, which is why the Excelsa species is a promising alternative. With funding from the Coffee Circle Foundation, SICC plans to intensify this research, select the best varieties of the Excelsa species and commercialize them.