Our Hopes For the Future
The Road Ahead
We realize that we must make a change to get our community out of a vicious circle of poverty and addiction. Growing coffee together, we hope to improve our lives and show the world that even small rural communities like us can make sustainable and economically viable progress.
Coffee
High value cash crop
optimal soil conditions
small environmental footprint
Our journey towards becoming coffee farmers started in 2016 when experts from the national coffee research centre visited our villages. The experts studied our area and concluded that we have a good climate for growing high quality coffee. After this we had many discussions between ourselves and with the experts, and in the end our communities decided to start the transition towards becoming coffee farmers.
Through this process we have learned that growing coffee is hard work, and we know that it requires attention to details and technical procedures. This is a learning process for us, but we get support from a team of agronomists who come to our villages several times per week to support us. Our partners have also supported us with materials, such as seeds and fertilizers.
Our goal is to produce specialty coffee that can be sold to coffee drinkers around the world and we have a strong motivation and will continue to work together to achieve this.
Cooperation
shared ownership
unified voice
stronger links to market
Vanmai is built on our shared understanding that no individual farmer in our remote area can independently access the markets, technology and knowledge that is necessary to escape poverty. Only by working together can we be strong enough to make a meaningful change to our situation.
For generations we have struggled to get our crops to market because of the remote location of our villages and farms. It is difficult for each of us to build the necessary contacts to sell our crops and to ensure that we are receiving a fair price. As individual farmers we have very little negotiating power. By working together we hope to change this.
Through Vanmai , we can jointly identify and negotiate with buyers, jointly develop and process our products, and jointly get access to equipment and technology. This joint effort means we share the costs, we share the risks and we also share the hope.
Working together in cooperation has been the highlight of this new undertaking. It is bringing renewed optimism to our community and bringing families together with a unified purpose.
Sustainability
inclusive and eco-friendly development
Limited waste
better living conditions
Our home in the beautiful mountainous region of Northeast Laos, is the land that has provided for generations of our families. It is the land where generations of our families have learned to farm and grow food with love. We need a solution to make money but one that also keeps our land healthy and flourishing for our children. Traditionally, we have been growing crops on rotation which involves regularly cutting down new forest land for farming. With an increasing population, this now contributes to a large reduction of the area covered by trees.
Our coffee is also grown together with shade trees, which have many advantages for our local environment such as saving water and providing healthy soil structure. We are doing our best to make sure we do not damage our soil through excessive use of chemicals and for this ew produce our own organic fertilizer in our composting centres. Our goal is to improve our living conditions and secure a future for our children that leaves them with a flourishing and healthy environment
Our Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
