Impact
Better Coffee for the Greater Good
Sourcing - Roasting - Training - Crafting - Donating
Better coffee for the greater good is a philosophy that we have built our shop on. Better coffee is responsibly sourced, master roasted, and thoughtfully crafted. Beyond serving better coffee we take a portion of the profits and donate them to sustainable literacy projects in Nepal and Kenya. From seed to cup and cup to impact we are dedicated to making our communities better.
Better coffee starts at the source, not just with finding the best coffee there is but paying beyond the standard practice of fair trade. That is why we source coffee from Cooperative Coffees.
Seed to cup
Co-op Coffees partners with 21 coffee producers in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Co-op Coffees supports small-scale farmers in these countries to make growing coffee a sustainable and beneficial means of income for their families and their communities. Co-op Coffees works with 23 members across the globe to create social and economic change by being transparent with coffee producers.
Co-op Coffees is a fair-trade certified cooperative, meaning they are part of “a global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, consumers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first.”
Their approach to fair trade coffee is based on the principles of fair trade certification:
To create opportunities to alleviate poverty and aid in the sustainable development of communities. Co-op Coffees places the interest of their communities at the forefront of their concerns.
To value the importance of developing and maintaining transparent and accountable relationships with their coffee producers.
To help producers develop independence and build capacity through proactive communication, financial and technical assistance, market information, and dialogue.
To promote fair trade by showing customers and producers that fair trade can be a positive way of making impact on living standards, health, education, the distribution of power, and the environment.
To pay producers promptly and fairly by copying or exceeding minimum standards for employees and producers.
To support safe and empowering work conditions by providing a healthy working environment free of forced labor.
To ensure the rights of children, to make sure they have the right to security, education, and play.
To cultivate environmental stewardship by encouraging environmentally sustainable practices that will benefit current generations without taking away from future generations’ ability to meet their needs. This includes reusing, reclaiming, recycling, and reducing materials used when possible.
To respect cultural identity by celebrating the cultural diversity of producers’ communities and balancing market needs with the needs of their cultural heritage.
All coffee through Co-op Coffees is certified organic. For a product to be certified organic, it must meet the USDA standards for organically produced agricultural products. “The Organic certification provides confirmation that the coffee product has followed a rigorous organic supply chain management process and quality controls from tree to cup.”
We are proud to be leaders in bringing coffee that goes beyond the standard of fair trade to Martin, Tennessee. All of our coffee is ethically sourced and bought directly from small-scale farmers through our partnership with Cooperative Coffees. Cooperative Coffees is a socially responsible buying group that was started in 1999 to connect small-scale farmers to coffee buyers. Through Co-op Coffees, we are able to bring coffee to Martin, Tennessee that is 100% organically grown and purchased at prices exceeding even the standard Fair Trade. We know this will continue to offer a respectable living to those involved.
Cup to Impact
Beyond supporting fair trade initiatives we also donate a portion of our profits to literacy projects in Nepal and Kenya. We started Coffee for Literacy in 2017 when we opened Martin’s Coffee and Bakery. Coffee for Literacy was created to bridge the literacy gap through student sponsorship, supplying desks, books, and literacy supplies to schools, and connecting local communities in the US to communities abroad through literacy trips.
From seed to cup there is a positive impact on a community both on a local and global scale. Wherever your cup of inspiration may lead you, know that with each cup Martin’s brews you are making an impact.
So order a french press for the table, chart your next course in your journal, and stay a while!
LOCAL BREWS, GLOBAL IMPACT
Coffee for Literacy is an initiative created to fund literacy projects in a self-sustaining way through coffee sales. Coffee for Literacy began with the opening of Martin’s Coffee and Bakery in August, 2017.
For every cup of coffee sold, Martin’s donates a portion of the profits to funding sustainable literacy projects. So far, Martin’s has completed a library project for the Collins Children's Home in Nepal, donated school desks to a school in Kenya, built a well for a school in India, lead 4 trips to Nepal and 2 trips to Kenya connecting local communities to making a difference, and led and completed a letter writing campaign where we collected over 15,000 handwritten letters to encourage students in the pursuit of their education.
How coffee for literacy started
John and Courtney Sellers set out to build a self-sustaining structure that would generate a long-term impact in rural communities of Nepal and Kenya through literacy projects. Previously, the Sellers have promoted literacy in both Nepal and Kenya by delivering school supplies and letters of encouragement to children in schools, orphanages, and children's homes.
We are so proud to have completed the letter project by collecting a total of 15,000 hand written letters!
Letters in Motion collected15,000 hand written letters from 7 different countries, numerous schools, churches, businesses, and colleges to bridge the literacy gap one letter at a time.
"This was proving to be very beneficial, but we wanted our work to be self-sustaining-- we needed consistent funding. The most challenging part of building a self-sustaining model is making it easy for anyone to get involved. We wanted to provide an opportunity for anyone to be able to make a difference."-- John Sellers
That's why the Sellers created Martin’s Coffee and Bakery, where a portion of the proceeds of every cup goes to supporting literacy projects in Nepal and Kenya. The more that Martin’s grows in this local community, the more it affects change in rural communities abroad.
"What began as an easy way to help people make a difference, evolved into a lasting global impact. A community for a community-- and it's as easy as drinking a cup of coffee." -- Courtney Sellers
John and Courtney in Nepal
There's a Future in every cup of coffee
Our current project is in Jhapa, Nepal
Many times kids that cannot afford to pay school fees are never able to go to school to learn how to read and write. It is not as simple as just sponsoring a child to pay their school fees. Even if their fees are covered they do not have the ability to enter back into school at their grade level. This gap leads to kids that never have the opportunity to learn how to read and write. By establishing a place where kids are fed and taught the fundamentals of literacy we will be able to make a lasting impact in their lives.
We are currently building an afterschool tutoring and feeding program that serves children that have been left behind in their education due to poverty.
Literacy Projects
Literacy Projects are broken down into 3 different categories based on the needs of schools, orphanages, and teachers.
After school Tutoring and Feeding Program Sponsorship
School infrastructure
Literacy trips
Become a literacy partner
Get more information on how your business can become a literacy Partner by emailing us:
Info@MartinCoffeehouse.com