I was born with a congenital muscle disorder. All my life, I’ve faced rejection. But this coffee sorting center—this place—is the first where I’ve truly felt love from people outside of my mom and dad.
AND...I met Teacher Lai Ya.
High up in the mountains of Myanmar, heading northeast towards Naga, is a story of hope and a story of perseverance.
But it has been a really hard year.
People ask me, “Who starts a new business in the middle of a war?”
I guess I do.
For impoverished farmers in Myanmar, growing poppies for heroin is about 17 times more lucrative than growing rice. But to do it comes at a high cost. Many farmers are forced to compromise...
We go beyond "fair" with our direct trade model. We pay above market value for the harvest, eliminate the middle people, and put money directly into the hands of the farmers.
We have some exciting news to share.
On Sept 7, the same day Myanmar declared a state of civil war, Isaiah and his coffee production team got this year’s harvest of green coffee onto a ship heading for Vancouver.
The problem was access.
The villagers who lived on the mountain could only access the closest town, and the closest hospital, by travelling through the rice fields at the bottom of the mountain. The existing road was made of dirt and was best negotiated by two-wheelers, which made it difficult to transport anything, whether people, produce or supplies.
My name is Zar Zar. My dream of becoming a certified nurse has just become reality.
