Starbucks CEO; independent candidate for President
1997: Appropriate Technology Initiative in Guatemala
In early 1997, we followed up by forming an alliance with Appropriate Technology International to help poor, small-scale coffee farmers in Guatemala increase their income by improving the quality of their crops and market access.
With a $75,000 first-year grant, we initiated a revolving fund to facilitate loans for producer cooperatives, starting with the funding of a wet-coffee processing facility designed to minimize environmental impact.
Most of the growers we're helping are struggling to feed themselves and their families from the produce of a few acres of land, and they suffer from high rates of illness and malnutrition.
We see this effort as just a first step, an innovative program that could be expanded to make a difference for coffee farmers in other countries, too.
