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Few
places on Earth are as enchanting as the tiny
mountain kingdom of Nepal. Best known for its
friendly people and breathtaking Himalayan peaks,
Nepal is also a country of fertile valleys and
hillsides, perfect for producing excellent
shade-grown coffee. While Tea has been grown in
Nepal for nearly 100 years, coffee production is
relative new having begun about 30 years ago. The
emergence of coffee presents an exciting ray of hope
for the 8,000 coffee farmers currently active in
this, one of the World’s poorest countries. In
addition to the challenges all farmers face,
Nepalese coffee farmers must overcome many barriers,
not the least of which is the difficulty of
producing and transporting products in a county with
few roads and limited infrastructure. |
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Fortunately, and
perhaps even because of these barriers, the Nepalese
are not only amazingly resilient, but beloved for
their kindness and cheerfulness. Anyone who has
traveled to Nepal has had their heart warmed
countless times by smiling passersby wishing them “Namaste”.
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Nepalese coffee is
a reflection of spirit of these remarkable people.
Our Nepalese Arabica coffee is organically grown at
an altitude of 2,200 – 2,400 feet in the foothills
of the Ganish Himal mountain range. The beans are
ripened in the thin Himalayan air under sunlit azure
sky’s and a canopy of shade trees. Once harvested,
the beans are washed with water from the snow-fed
Trisuli river and sun-dried. |
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We at Common Good
Foods have a special kinship with the country of
Nepal and have developed a relationship with some of
the regions most well established producers,
including the Plantec Coffee Estate. They have
focused not only on growing some of the World’s
finest coffee since 1994, but also on improving the
lives of members of their community, including: |
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Organic
Production |
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Using no
artificial chemicals, and instead, producing and
using organic fertilizers from compost purchased
from small livestock farmers in the area, providing
much-needed extra income for them |
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Sustainable
Practices |
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Using reforested
fallow land, leased from the government which has
given rise to various species of birds, deer,
leopard and jackals which had previously left the
area |
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Job Creation |
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Creating jobs in
this poor, remote area with few opportunities,
giving preference to female workers |
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Education |
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Financial support
of primary and secondary education in the area |
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Economic
Stimulus |
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Thorough exports,
proving a source of much-needed foreign currency to
the region |
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Our ambition is to
work alongside our friends in Nepal to help
introduce their excellent coffee to the World.
Furthermore, we are working with them to obtain Fair
Trade and Organic certification which is a complex
and expensive process for countries like Nepal with
limited financial and organizational resources. |
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