An app that sends money in the form of tips from appreciative caffeine
devotees around the world to coffee growers in Colombia could help
farmers battered by dismal prices earn more income, the initiative’s
founder said.
Many growers in the Andean country, the world’s top producer of washed
arabica, are struggling to scratch a living even though high-quality
Colombian beans remain sought after by coffee drinkers around the world.
Arabica coffee futures fell in May to their lowest level in more than 13
years, just 87.60 cents per lb, before recovering slightly to around 96
cents per lb. The low price has some farmers looking for alternative
crops.
It even led Colombia’s growers federation to float the idea of
untethering production from international prices set on the New York
market.
But a former U.S. hedge fund manager, inspired by a stint working on a
Colombian coffee farm to mount a non-profit effort to help growers, is
hoping his tipping platform can help alleviate farmers’ burden and get
consumers invested in the future of the crop.
The ‘propina’ platform, which launches worldwide on Friday, comprises
two different apps. One will be displayed on iPads in coffee shops and
other locations and will send funds to workers at the farms the
locations source from.
The second app, available on smartphones, will allow drinkers to
directly tip their favorite cafe’s supplier or contribute to a general
fund.
The contributions – managed by Colombia’s pension administrator – will
ensure farmers and pickers earn more even if big buyers refuse to pay
higher premiums, said platform founder Crawford Hawkins.
“Right now the system is completely warped in the favor of Nespresso and
Illy and the large roasters,” said Hawkins. “This is probably the
perfect environment for them to be doing business and yet they’re doing
the bare minimum to say they care about farmers.”
Nespresso did not respond to a request for comment. However, it recently
launched its own charitable effort it says will help more farmers swap
coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, for coffee.
Illycaffe said in a statement to Reuters it guarantees producers who
meet its quality standards a premium over the cost of production.
“Producers are the most vital and endemically the least fairly
compensated actors in the coffee supply chain,” it said.
The app will also allow users to set up recurring donations and get
updates direct from farmers. Hawkins hopes to expand into gyms and
co-working spaces, reaching between 500 and 1,000 locations in the apps’
first year.
The effort will begin in a dozen locations supplied by Madrid roasters
SupraCafe, which stocks restaurants and hotels, but Hawkins said he is
already in talks with rapidly expanding chains in the United States.
Many farmers have trouble finding people willing to do the arduous,
all-weather work of hand-picking beans on steep mountainsides.
The pension payments may help growers attract labor, Hawkins said, and will motivate them to formalize their workforce.
Hawkins acknowledges asking drinkers to tip on top of the cost of their
latte and gratuity for a barista may be a hard sell, but says
significant funds could be raised if just a quarter of customers
participate.
The propina iPads will be displayed alongside a looped short documentary
about the price crisis – an effort to attract the attention of clients
waiting for their orders.
“Guilt is sometimes a very good driver,” Hawkins said. “You love your
specialty coffee, but it’s at risk and the farmer who produces it is at
risk. You can do something about it.”
The app may soon offer consumers the option to round up their bill to
the nearest dollar as a tip, Hawkins said, and could eventually expand
into offering microloans to growers.
“There are enough specialty coffee shops out there to grow this in a big way.”
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