PORTLAND, Maine — On Wednesday, April 17, four people from three African countries will sit down in Portland to talk about coffee.
They’re here for an event sponsored by Coffee By Design, a conversation called “Navigating Economic Justice and Sustainability in Coffee.” The aim is to give people a chance to learn about where their money goes when they buy coffee and what impact it has on coffee-growing communities thousands of miles away.
Two of the coffee producers who will be part of the conversation are from Uganda, one is from Burundi, and the fourth, Heleanna Georgalis, is from Ethiopia, where she runs a coffee supplier that has been in her family for just over half a century. It employs about 200 people who are the heart of the business.
“It’s very important that people are content when they work with me. That’s my fundamental value,” Georgalis said. “Happy people make happy companies.”
In striving for sustainability, the coffee industry is addressing both climate change and economic justice. Progress won’t be achieved on either issue unless coffee drinkers are willing to pay for it, according to Coffee By Design owner Mary Allen Lindemann.
“If we want to continue to drink quality coffee, we have to be willing to pay a fair price,” she said.
The event will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 17 at Coffee By Design at 1 Diamond Street in Portland. It’s free and open to the public.