June 2014 Coffee Conference Trip Report (sorry about the pictures)

Trip Report June 2014

Introducing Coffee Quality Management in Haiti as a Means of Reconnecting Both Ends of the Value Chain

Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak

7/30/2014

RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY SHEET

  

Recommendation	Person/group/organization
1. Evaluate in details the best options before replanting; take into account external factors such as climate change, local and international consumption, etc. - is coffee still the best culture for the area - if so, what type of coffee is best adapted now and for the next 20 years.  2. Focus on profits, not just sale price.   - by reducing costs, you increase profits even if you keep the same sale price, - even if “café pile” (dry processed coffee) price is lower than washed coffee, it may be more profitable because  production costs may be lower.  3. Make sure to actively manage your co-ops as businesses. - establish goals and tell all the members about them. - set up methods to check/control against the goals - report regularly with progress.	Recommendations from Chris Nicaise for the Cooperatives
1.      Support Makouti. Help Makouti to get long term business management assistance. The nuts and bolts stuff that only slows Benito down but is essential for accountability and transparency. Perhaps through the equivalent of a Peace Corps Volunteer on a two year assignment. 2.      Continue pushing broad based education in the coffee agricultural sector. 3.      Continue pushing top level education in coffee processing in both the wet mill and in the dry mill. The growers will be more inclined to cooperate and contribute as they understand more about their product. 4.      Look for ways to encourage the consumption of decent quality (by acknowledged international standards) coffee roasted and brewed “correctly.” 5.      Work on ways to select coffee for consistent quality. Do this first. Export this coffee to selected customers with whom you can work to build market share for your brand. Dump the commodities coffee into the commodities market, avoid associating your name with an inferior product. 6.      Develop a program to promote working in coffee quality management and a way to screen applicants for sensory skills and the aptitude to help manage a Quality management system. 7.      Find the funding for sending an intern for training in coffee quality management’ preferably FincaLab® based in Mexico. 8.      Work with San Cristobal Coffee Importers to select an intern for training in Mexico. 9.      Create a catalog of all the wet mills within the Makouti group. Create a matrix that shows equipment, capability, number of growers serving the mill, distances to these growers, parcelas, management skills, availability of cell phone and internet communications, and distance from the Makouti Training Center. Use this matrix to select one wet mill for training and guidance in quality management and begin promoting formal procedures for fruit reception and separation of lots. Use lessons learned here to expand the program to other mills in subsequent year 10.  Find out what it is that drives local coffee prices. The most important thing is to know how to pay just a little more than does the competition. Long term sustainability of the business depends critically on this simple fact. Managing costs and expenses is part of the equation, but understanding how prices are set and developing the mechanisms to consistently beat them is most important.	Recommendations from James Kosalos
Build financial records with each farmer and compare the data year on year. Meet with farmers at least once per year to review and plan for upcoming year.  Evaluate your baseline. How much coffee are you currently producing? What is the current quality (or tiers of quality)? Then set long-term objectives for quantity and quality of production in 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years. Ensure you can measure progress regularly and are transparent with your members about this process.  Standardize your process management procedures to oversee quality control. Incentivize farmers to produce high quality coffee (assuming you are selling to international markets). Do not buy their coffee if it has too many defects. Or, purchase the lower quality coffee at a lower rate. Inform your members of this in advance.	Recommendations from Gwen Straley for Cooperatives
1.       Conduct market research to evaluate the best opportunity for constituents’ coffee (domestic vs. international) 2.       Organize office equipment and ensure that every item has a place where it is kept at all times unless in use. This will ease daily operations and prevent unnecessary confusion. 3.       Build your marketing story for Makouti Coffee. 4.       Continue to host volunteer groups but make sure to manage expectations and communicate directly. If you will not be able to provide standard meals during the day, encourage volunteers in advance to carry ample snacks. Make sure you always have a large supply of drinking water. If you run an errand and advise volunteers that you will be back in one hour but are delayed, contact the volunteers to let them know about your delay. Volunteers will often appreciate their experience more and will work more efficiently when they have enough food and water, and are continuously informed about the schedule. 5.       Plan/schedule events (conferences, workshops, etc.) further in advance to relieve last minute stress of your staff and participants and ensure a smooth program. 6.       Continue to inspire your constituents. You have done a tremendous job building capacity in the face of very challenging market conditions.	Recommendations from Gwen Straley For Makouti
1.      Focus on increasing the quantity of ripe coffee cherries that are harvested.  This will increase the volume of the harvest, the income of the producer, the quality and quantity of the beans and the money made from export. 2.      Collaborate with producers, other cooperatives and members of the coffee value chain to increase efficiency, reduce overhead costs, increase market exposure, protect and control your industry and products. 3.      Collaborate in the development of a Quality Management System that is globally understood and respected to the benefit of all Haitian coffee producers	Recommendations from Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak for the Cooperatives
1.      Increase multilingual abilities of coffee staff 2.      Set up coffee lab and small scale coffee processing 3.      Improve communications between accounting staff and program managers for smoother transfer of funds 4.      Keep up the great work !	Recommendations from Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak for Makouti
Identify Females leaders on each of the 11 Co-ops and create an Organizing Committee. Organize a 2 day workshop to review IWCA Chapter Protocols and develop a Strategic Plan. Implement processes at the picking stage to separate the coffee produced and or picked by females.	Recommendations from Mery Santos

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This was the 21^st trip into Haiti by Volunteer Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, 16^th as a Farmer to Farmer volunteer with Partners of the Americas (POA) and the first with USAID/VEGA Farmer to Farmer grant for coffee volunteers.

This trip was designed to be a follow up of previous coffee work done by Haiti Coffee, POA and Makouti Agro Entreprise since 2010 in an effort to increase the sustainable production of Haitian coffee and improve the income of rural Haitian farmers.

Five American volunteers, James Kosalos of FincaLab, Mery Santos of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), Chris Nicaise of Singing Rooster, Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak of Haiti Coffee and Gwen Straley of 3^rd Creek Consulting were joined by Haitian agronomists Benito Jasmin and Jean Jacques Lucas of Makouti; Alphonse St. Louis and Fedner Exantus of Kok Ki Chante, and over 50 Haitian coffee producers including 13 women and 12 cooperatives in 4 days of lectures and workshops in Northern Haiti.

The two day conference at the Makouti Training Center in Lory covered numerous topics designed to assist producers in improving business management, production quality and quantity and to help bring the two ends of the coffee value chain closer together. Lectures included; The importance and benefits of forming an IWCA chapter; Business management and quality management practices at the cooperative level and how that can help financing and profitability; Factors affecting triage and the importance of harvesting ripe coffee cherries to increase quality, volume and profitability of the coffee harvest; The importance of working with cooperatives and managing quality for export; Quality Management Systems to accurately assess coffee, give farmers feedback on how to improve their production and  to accurately represent one’s coffee to potential buyers; Importance of connecting the two ends of the value chain in order to improve communication, understanding, opportunity and profitability for everyone; and the Cost of production and the marketing side of the value chain.

Two days of workshops were conducted in Dondon at Ecole Moyenne d’Agriculture de Dondon (EMAD). Workshops included a Sensory Skills Test, Aroma Skills test, coffee tree planting and a complete coffee analysis and cupping section. The hands on nature of the workshops greatly increased the understanding of the material presented.

This conference is the first of three designed to increase the transfer of knowledge of current coffee industry standards to Haitian producers who desire to rebuild their historical coffee industry and increase coffee exports in an effort to rebuild their economy.

BACKGROUND

This is my 21^st trip into Haiti and my 16^th trip with Partners of the Americas (POA)F2F program in Haiti and my first with USAID/VEGA Farmer to Farmer grant for coffee volunteers. This is also my first trip as a program manager, though, I have been involved with Makouti Agro Entreprise in developing the meat rabbit industry in Haiti since 2007 and involved in researching and rebuilding the coffee industry since 2010.

In 2011, HaitiCoffee.com was incorporated and joined forces with Makouti to help redevelop the coffee industry and open up access to export markets for Haiti’s coffee producers. In November 2013, Haiti Coffee held its first coffee conference in northern Haiti at the Makouti training center. The purpose of this conference was to help the producers identify the most urgent priorities affecting the coffee value chain in Haiti.  They were listed as follows:

3 Challenges with Production (seed to harvest)

1.      Problem finding coffee seedlings.

a.       Good genetics, healthy seedlings

2.      Problems replanting coffee plantations

a.       Hands on training on pruning and replanting

3.      Problems with CBB, Rust and Nematodes.

3 Challenges During the Post Harvest Period (processing, triage)

1.      Problems with washed and natural processed coffee.

a.       Lack of equipment

2.      Problems drying the coffee

a.       Need concrete pads other drying structures

3.      Problems storing coffee

a.       Bad storage conditions, CBB damage

3 Challenges with Marketing Coffee

1.      Contracts to guarantee yearly sales of coffee

a.       Lack of stable buyers

2.      Problems caused by yearly price fluctuation

3.      Problem for co-ops to access lines of credit for harvest and purchasing beans

 As a result we launched an Indiegogo campaign to help producers achieve their wish to begin replanting coffee in their forest gardens. Blue Mountain Arabica seeds were purchased along with ploy bags and dirt resulting in 43,000 seedlings in 6 nurseries in northern Haiti by January 2014.

In March 2014 more education and data collection (included in M&E below) was provided with the help of POA’s F2F program and Haiti Coffee. The focus was on building relationships between the cooperatives/ producers, Makouti Agro Entreprise and Haiti Coffee; determining the feasibility of exporting coffee; gathering the baseline data needed for the new grant cycle; determining the most urgent and next steps for assisting the producers and cooperatives; educating the producers and cooperatives on the US coffee market and the need for quality assurances; and highlighting the important value of business management and marketing.

ACTIVITIES

Program Staff:
Jean Jacques Lucas “Jacquelin” is the coffee liaison for Makouti and Haiti Coffee.  He helped us conduct outreach to the local cooperatives; get the information necessary for the host data sheets and the ODI forms; and organize the conference and workshops. He also oversaw logistics and has created monthly activities for participants in the program.

Hermon Duverson is the IT specialist and office administrator for Makouti. He is the administrative support for the coffee project and the welcoming voice who answers the phones.

Benito Jasmin is the program manager and primary motivator for the coffee project and founder of Makouti.  He oversees the management staff, translates and assists with volunteers.  His most important role is building the coffee team, delegating responsibilities, building organizational capacity, and overseeing progress.

Together they make a great team.

Monitoring and Evaluations:

The following is to serve as baseline data to judge impact on quality over the next several years.

Cupping references:

¹ Boot Academy, Mill Valley CA

² Byard Duncan, Blue Bottle Coffee Co. San Francisco, CA

³ Coffee Quality Institute, SCAA, Seal Beach, CA

⁴ Aleece Bruckner, Licensed Q Grader, VolCafe, Petaluma, CA
⁵Green Mountain Coffee Roasters- Specialty Coffee Business Unit

COOPACVOD-Cooperative Agricole Caféière Vincent Orge de Dondon in Dondon
  850 Members (200 women); Contact: Francisque Dubois 509.37.82.07.07

1.      Washed coffee- Blue Mountain, Typica, Caturra, Altitude is 400-1250meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Cupping scores:
2011-82¹;
2012- 83.75¹;
2013- sample, washed: Good sweetness, slightly flat, slight paper, orange peel, caramel. 83²
2013- Q Certiified, April 2014; 81.50³
2013- 79.29⁴

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
79.29	8.0	7.9	8.0	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9		very subtle sweetness, but the cup is dominated by rough peanut flavors, dry earth, bark finish

These are all good scores.

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      Strong nursery program with Blue Mountain seedlings

5.      Good cooperative management

6.      Equipment is working, but some of it needs repairs, replacing and upgrading. Could use a drying house, Certified scales, triage machine, cupping lab.

7.      All triage is done by hand by women and quality inspected again at the end

8.      No access to harvest credit

9.      Had organic certification from 2007-2011.  Determined it is too expensive and does not increase the value of the coffee for the cooperative.  It only seems to impact the retail price.

10.  Currently does export to the USA to Singing Rooster, Café Creole and hopefully Haiti Coffee

11.  No website, rarely uses email, marketing limited to word of mouth

Recommendations: This is an excellent cooperative that has managed to stay viable thanks to the hard work of Mr. Dubois. (6 men and 0 women came to the meeting)

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      They need a cupping lab (FincaLab)

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  May need to build a business profile for this

·         KKKLD- Coopérative Caféière Capois la Mort de Dondon; Dondon; 650 members (150 women); Contact: Lindor Gladys 509.36.01.80.08

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Blue Mountain & Typica, Altitude is 400-1000meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Cupping scores:
2012- Age, paper, bassy, chocolate, slightly sweet. 82²;
2013- 77.24³
2013-78.57⁴

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
78.57	7.9	7.9	8.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8		dry, rough, cracker, peanut, lacking any sweetness, earthy

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      No nursery

5.      Good cooperative leadership but books are just sentences in notebooks.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

6.      Equipment: Have an old depulper in bad shape, washing station, storage, but no mill  and no scales

7.      All triage is done by hand by women but they can’t afford it

8.      Have access to some grant money through parent organization

9.      No certifications, farm organically

10.  Has sold to RECOCARNO in the past and some went for export.  Have ~5,000lbs washed, Sample taken

11.  No website, No email, marketing limited to word of mouth and cell phone

Recommendations: This cooperative seems to have good leadership and a good network of support. President would be a strong candidate for IWCA leadership role. Coffee may have export potential now. (2 men and 3 women came to the meeting)

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

3.      They need scales

4.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

5.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  Will need to build a business profile & business plan for this.  Equipment loans needed as well

·         COPROCAD-Coopérative de Production et de Commercialisation Agricole de Dondon in Dondon; 220 members (160 women); Contact: B.Aime Celieriste 509.36.98.48.71

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Blue Mountain, Typica, Bourbon, Caturra; Altitude is 450-1250meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Cupping scores:
2013- 79.43⁴

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
79.43	8.0	7.9	8.1	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9		some slight dry milk chocolate notes, cracker, wheat, soil, woody

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      Have started a blue mountain nursery with Makouti and HC

5.      Have a computer and some idea of business management, bookkeeping and marketing

6.      Equipment: Have all the equipment except a mill.  They use the mill in La Paix

7.      All triage is done by hand by women. Would like more quality control

8.      Need access to financial planning.  They keep borrowing money from members

9.      No certifications

10.  Only sell domestically  Have ~32,5000lbs washed, No Sample Available, not milled yet

11.  No website, have email, a computer marketing limited to word of mouth, flyers, T shirts and cell phone

Recommendations: This cooperative seems to have good possibilities. Will need to test samples. Coffee may have export potential now

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet, website or Facebook

2.      Will need help reviewing bookkeeping system and set up a financial plan

3.      Need to have coffee samples evaluated

4.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

·         CACEMUD Coopérative Agricole Caféière et de Mutualité de Dondon in Dondon; 150 members (40 women); Justin Martin 509.36.12.03.89

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Blue Mountain, Typica, Bourbon Caturra, Altitude is 450-1250 meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Cupping scores:
2013- 80.00⁴

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
80.00	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.0	7.9	7.9	7.9		some decent mild citrus notes, but cup is very nutty and rough on the mouth, slight earthen note, dry finish

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      Started nursery with Makouti and HC

5.      No real business management, books are just sentences in notebooks.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

6.      Equipment: Have an old depulper in bad shape, washing station, storage, but no mill and scale

7.      All triage is done by hand by women but they can’t afford it

8.      Have access to some grant money through parent organization

9.      No certifications, farm organically

10.  Sell domestically,  Have 10,000lbs washed, Samples not available

11.  No website, No email, marketing limited to word of mouth and cell phone

Recommendations: This cooperative needs help with business management, financial planning, and marketing.  The coffee needs to be sampled

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  Will need to build a business profile & business plan for this.

·         COEB- Coopérative Excelsior de Basin in Plaisance; 350 members (110 women);
Contact: Menard 509.39.34.56.16

1.      Natural Processed- Arabica Typica, Bourbon; Altitude is 500-900 meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Natural processed: Cupping Score:
2011- 67.92³
2012- Rubber, charcoal, highly defective, bitter, chalky. 79²

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      No Nursery

5.      No real business management, books are just sentences in notebooks.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

6.      Equipment: Have no equipment

7.      All triage is done by hand but not very well

8.      Have access to some money periodically

9.      No certifications, farm organically

10.  Sell domestically,  Have 1848 natural processed

11.  No website, No email, marketing limited to word of mouth and cell phone

Recommendations: This cooperative needs help with business management, financial planning, and marketing. They need a decent protocol for drying their coffee uniformly and without road contamination, Quality control standards will be essential for them.

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  Will need to build a business profile & business plan for this.

·         COPEJ Collaboration des Paysans de Joli Trou in Grande Rivière de Nord; 125 members (45 women): Contact Delouis Phanord 509.43.65.78.91

1.      Natural Processed coffee- Arabica Blue Mountain, Typica, Bourbon Caturra; Altitude is unknown. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      No samples were available

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      Started nursery with Makouti and HC

5.      No real business management, books are just sentences in notebooks.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

6.      Equipment: Have no equipment

7.      No triage is done

8.      Have no access to outside funds

9.      No certifications, farm organically

10.  Sell domestically,  Have 80 lbs, Samples not available

11.  No website, No email, marketing limited to word of mouth and cell phone. Only sell what little coffee they have locally

Recommendations: This cooperative needs help with business management, financial planning, and marketing.  They have no significant amount of coffee, but they are planting and hope to sell in the future. I doubt that they have much altitude.  They should just focus on the local market and add coffee trees for diversity. (9 men and 9 women came to the meeting)

1.      They have excellent pineapples that could sell as an export.  Would need a marketing program and presence on the internet to attract a buyer

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

3.      Are in need of a well at the cooperative site for nursery

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a loan for pineapples if export is possible.  Will need to build a business profile & business plan for this

·         REPANORD - Regroupement des Paysans du Nord in Grande Rivière; 275 members (90 women): Contact: Pierre Faustere 509.37.88.14.4

1.      Not yet planted.  Have started a nursery. Stopped growing coffee many years ago. Want to get back into it now that interest and demand is increasing

2.      Started nursery with Makouti and HC

3.      No real business management, no records.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

4.      Equipment: Have no equipment

5.      Have no access to outside funds

6.      No website, Do have email, marketing limited to word of mouth and cell phone.

Recommendations: This cooperative needs help with business management, financial planning, and marketing.  They should just focus on the local market and add coffee trees for diversity. They would like to sell through Makouti (10 men and 2 women came to the meeting)

1.      They will need training on growing the trees

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

·         KAPB-Coopérative Avenir des Paysans de Borgne; in Borgne 450 members (90 women); Contact Paulicien Prezilus 509.36.07.45.03

1.      Washed and Natural processed coffee- Arabica Typica and Robusta; Altitude is 200-800 meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      No samples were available

3.      Still strip harvest

4.      Started nursery with Makouti and HC

5.      No real business management, use notebooks.  Difficult for them to show or understand financials

6.      Equipment: Have a depulper, washing station, storage, but no mill and no scale

7.      All triage is done by hand

8.      Have no access to credit or loans

9.      No certifications, farm organically

10.  Sell domestically,  Try to sell through RECOCARNO ,Have ~30,000 lbs washed, Samples not available

11.  No website, No email, market through RECOCARNO

Recommendations: This cooperative needs help with business management, financial planning, and marketing.  The coffee needs to be sampled

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      Will need help setting up a bookkeeping system and financial plan

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  Will need to build a business profile & business plan for this.

·         COOPAIMAR- Coopérative Agro Industriel de Marmelade in Marmelade; 2500 members; Contact Celicourt Emonel, 509.36.52.59.00 * This is the parent organization of 3 associations and 9 co-op washing stations. 

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Typica, Caturra; Altitude is 400-1250meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Cupping scores:

2011- 72.34³
2012-80.75³

2012- cupped in 2014- 77.57⁴

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
77.57	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.8		dry wood, paper, peanut, bitter, dry cocoa, rough

3.      Has sold to exporters via Haitian Blue and Haiti Coffee

4.      Could use a cupping lab and trained cuppers

·         APCAP- Association Planteurs Café Crête a Pin ; 1800 members (450 women); Contact : Raymond  Oreste, 509. 36.14.63.18

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Typica, Caturra; Altitude is 600-1000meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Still strip harvest

3.      Good cooperative management

4.      Have equipment, except a mill and a scale.  They use the ones at COOPAIMAR

5.      All triage is done at COOPAIMAR first by machine then by hand by women

6.      No access to harvest credit

7.      Have no certification

8.      No website, no email, marketing limited to word of mouth and COOPAIMAR

Recommendations: This is an excellent network of cooperatives. They are currently suffering from the consequences of a bad deal that forced them to sell their coffee at a loss on the domestic market.

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      They need access to a cupping lab (FincaLab) at COOPAIMAR and to focus on improving quality

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

4.      Approach Yunnis Social Bank about a line of credit for harvest.  May need to build a business profile for this

·         APKBA- Association Planteurs Kafe Bassin ; 200 members (500 women) ; Contact : Joseph Renard, 509..36.35.93.85

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Typica, Caturra; Altitude is 400-1000meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Still strip harvest

3.      Good cooperative management

4.      Have access to all equipment

5.      All triage is done at COOPAIMAR first by machine then by hand by women

6.      Have access to loan through KEKAM

7.      Have no certification

8.      No website, have email, marketing limited to word of mouth, COOPAIMAR and FACN

Recommendations: This is an excellent network of cooperatives. They are currently suffering from the consequences of a bad deal that forced them to sell their coffee at a loss on the domestic market.

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      They need access to a cupping lab (FincaLab) at COOPAIMAR and to focus on improving quality

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

·         APKA- Association Planteurs Kafe Platon; 1500 members (480 women) Alexis Fidolien, 509. 36.36.88.17

1.      Washed coffee- Arabica Typica, Caturra; Altitude is 500-800meters. Coffee not separated by source.

2.      Still strip harvest

3.      Good cooperative management

4.      Have equipment, except a mill and a scale.  They use the ones at COOPAIMAR

5.      All triage is done at COOPAIMAR first by machine then by hand by women

6.      Have access to credit through KEKAM

7.      Have no certification

8.      No website, no email, marketing limited to word of mouth and COOPAIMAR

Recommendations: This is an excellent network of cooperatives. They are currently suffering from the consequences of a bad deal that forced them to sell their coffee at a loss on the domestic market.

1.      Marketing program and presence on the internet

2.      They need access to a cupping lab (FincaLab) at COOPAIMAR and to focus on improving quality

3.      Train producers to selectively harvest coffee rather than strip harvest

·         KKC- Kok Ki Chante (Haiti); Singing Rooster (Madison, WI, USA); 8000 members (3300 women) Chris Nicaise, 608.721.0622; www.singingrooster.org

1.      Washed coffees imported to the USA and available via Singing Rooster

2.      Cupping Scores⁴:
TETE SOURCE 13/14 WASHING STATION = 3900 SCREEN 15/16 AND 17/20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
84.86	8.5	8.4	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5		best sample by far, dark chocolate, sweet and clean, nice citrus notes, tangerine, nice when hot, holds on well as it cools, long lasting finish, consistent cup to cup

K-LENDI 13/14 WASHING STATION = 2800 SCREEN 15/16 AND 17/20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
80.43	8.4	8.1	8.2	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9		better when hot, falls off hard as it cools, murky almost peas-y flavors, slightly earth-y, not the cleanest but consistent cup to cup

COLIN 13/14 WASHING STATION = 3700 SCREEN 15/16 AND 17/20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
83.43	8.3	8.3	8.4	8.4	8.4	8.3	8.3		semi sweet chocolate, almond, wheat toast, good mouthfeel, clean and consistent

FJN/PCHASE WASHING STATION = 3375 SCREEN 15/16 AND 17/20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
77.86	7.9	7.7	8.0	7.8	7.7	7.7	7.7		cup is dominated by age, old, tired, not specialty grade

ARTIBONITE/APCK WASHING STATION = 2594 ALL BEAN 15-20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
78.71	8.1	7.8	8.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8		very dry and rough, past crop flavors, paper-y/cardboard, lacking in sweetness/acidity

PINE FOREST/APCAB1 WASHING STATION = 2800 ALL BEAN 15-20

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
79.57	8.2	7.9	8.0	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9		pretty rough and dry on the mouth, strong paper-y flavors, peanut shell, has body but lacking in sweetness acidity, consistent though

·         Cafe Kreyol-(Fairfax,VA); Joseph Stazzone 703-989-6751; www.cafekreyol.com

1.      Washed coffees imported to the USA and available via Café Kreyol

Cupping Scores⁴:

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
78.86	7.9	7.9	8.2	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8		consistent and defect free, but very rough on the mouth, dry, tree bark, peanut shell, not specialty quality, lacking sweetness

·         Haiti Coffee-(Nicasio,CA); Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak; HaitiCoffee@gmail.com; www.HaitiCoffee.com

1. Washed coffees imported to the USA and available via Haiti Coffee in August

Cupping Scores⁴:
UCOCAB- Baptiste

OVERALL SCORE	AROMA	ACIDITY	BODY	SWEET	FLAVOR	FINISH	BAL	UNIFORMITY	COMMENTS
81.00	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1		slight lemon, dry cocoa, almond, a bit dusty on the mouth, toast, best of all on the table

Cupping Scores⁵:
UCOCAB- Baptiste

Frag/Aroma 7.6; Acidity 7.6; Flavor 7.6; Body7.7; Aftertaste 7.5; Uniformity 10; Clean Cup 10;Sweetness 10;

Balance 7.69; Defect Points 0.0; Overall Impression 7.69

Average Cupping Score: 83.25

Cupper Comments:

cherries, dark chocolate (dark roast), cocoa, plum, dried fruit, cocoa, roasty but nice fruit
Fragrance/Aroma Comments:

earthy, cocoa, raisin, dark cherry

Cupping Scores⁵:
COOPCAB- Thiotte Echantillon de café vert; 2013-2014; BLUE PINE FOREST; 800-1200m

Frag/Aroma 7.6; Acidity 7.6; Flavor 7.6; Body7.5; Aftertaste 7.6; Uniformity 10; Clean Cup 10; Sweetness 10;

Balance 7.5; Defect Points 0.0; Overall Impression 7.5

Average Cupping Score: 82.88

Cupper Comments:

cocoa, tropical fruit, citrus, menthol, resinous, some berries, cherries, slightly thin, sweet cocoa, caramel, black tea, golden raisin

Fragrance/Aroma Comments:

cocoa, stone fruit, citrus, caramel, complex, cocoa, nutty

Purchasing and delivering equipment

One of the first goals of this project was to purchase basic equipment relevant to coffee analysis and brewing and training that would allow volunteers to provide firsthand experience to local coffee producers. This achieved a much greater level of understanding of what happens to coffee after it leaves the local cooperatives, the expectations of foreign buyers and consumers and the meaning of quality.
We are fortunate to receive several pieces of equipment as donations: a 3 pound coffee grinder donated by BUNN; a coffee sample roaster, digital scale and other coffee items donated by James Kosalos and San Cristobal Importers; a Nez de Café aroma kit donated by Mery Santos. Other items purchased for the project included a bean huller, humidity meter, sugar spectrometer, shop vacuum, coffee brewers, and video camera.

We did run into some challenges getting the equipment through customs in Haiti. After lengthy explanations of what the equipment was and what is was intended for, we were allowed passage with no taxes levied. The customs officers were a bit confused, but very much appreciated the learning opportunity.

Coffee Conference
A two day Coffee Conference was held at the Makouti Training Center in Lory, just outside of Cap Haitien in Northern Haiti. There were 32 participants including 8 women from 12 cooperatives and some independent producers from northern Haiti. Introductions were done by Jean Jacques Lucas and Benito Jasmin of Makouti.  Presentations were done over the course of two days:  The primary focus was bringing together the two ends of the Haitian coffee value chain and developing a universal standard for quality assessment.

The speakers and volunteers were:
Mery Santos (Sacramento CA) of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) who spoke about the importance and benefits of forming an IWCA chapter.

Dedicated women in coffee

Chris Nicaise of Singing Rooster (Madison, WI), a coffee importer, specializing in Haitian coffee and educator who spoke about the business management and quality management practices at the cooperative level and how that can help financing and profitability.

Chris Nicaise addressing the work of Singing Rooster in Haiti

Alphonse St. Louis of Kok Ki Chante  (Haiti) who discussed the factors affecting triage and the importance of harvesting ripe coffee cherries to increase quality, volume and profitability of the coffee harvest. Alphonse also acted as a translator.

Alphonse St. Louis emphasizing the importance of proper harvest practices

Fedner Exanhus of Kok Ki Chante (Haiti) who discussed the importance of working with cooperatives and managing quality for export.

James Kosalos of FincaLab ( Kirkland, WA) who spoke about the importance of using a Quality Management System to accurately assess coffee, give farmers feedback on how to improve their production and  to accurately represent one’s coffee to potential buyers.

James highlighting the quality and profitability of picking beans at the proper ripeness

Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, of Haiti Coffee (Nicasio, CA) who helped to highlight the opportunity and importance of connecting the two ends of the value chain in order to improve communication, understanding, opportunity and profitability for everyone.

Gwen Straley of 3^rd Creek Consulting ( Seattle, WA) who spoke on cost of production and the marketing side of the value chain. Both financing and marketing represent two key challenges to an already challenging market. Gwen also spoke on the work of Mayra Orellana-Powell after the screening of the film, The Way Back to Yarasquin, a film about Mayra’s small coffee export from her hometown in Honduras. A story that is similar to that of Haiti Coffee. (Mayra has expressed an interest in volunteering in Haiti to share her experience)

Gwen stimulating a lively discussion on tracking expenses with Chris and Fedner

Lively discussions were initiated by questions from the audience highlighting the importance of further training on Harvest decisions, Quality Control, Contracts, and Pricing. Their experience and understanding of these things are limited, so it will take some time for the details to really make sense. Coffee pricing is influenced by so many things.  Some they can control, like quality and others, like commodity prices, they cannot. Trying to explain it so it seems understandable and relevant was challenging. Contracts is another hot topic.  They all want them, but do not understand the implications if they do not meet the quality standard expected. Without a laboratory, Quality Management System, cupping score history, it is a subjective and lucky guess what each year will produce.  No buyer is going to commit at this point especially that most of the coffees are poorly triaged and poorly processed.  Understanding quality is still the most important skill they must grasp.  Everything else will fall into place after that. It is our hope that we can help the producers to establish new protocols that will help them understand the impact their farming decisions have on quality and flavor and thus price and exportability.

Problems and solutions the cooperatives have encountered that they would like to address soon.

1. Lack of availability of technical training

Proposal: Availability of technical training for producers, cooperatives and local technicians

2. Coffee Production

Insects and diseases are causing destruction of the coffee gardens

Proposal: Training and equipment to fight the insects and the diseases; replant more new trees

3. Lack of funds to run cooperatives correctly and to buy equipment needed

Proposal: Need to have access to funds for operations, credit lines, loans and learn good business management. We would like help in finding materials, mill, depulpers, scale, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, sprinklers, generator, sack, soil

4. Bad experiences in selling coffee

Proposal: Create purchase agreements between producers and buyers;

A means of transforming triage coffee into roasted ground coffee powder and find markets for it

5. Lack of good coffee seedlings

Solution: Need materials to create productive nurseries and to replant coffee trees. Find seeds, bags, shade cloth

Tree Planting

Last Fall Makouti and Haiti Coffee joint ventured on an effort to start up coffee nurseries.  Money was raised via Indiegogo and used to purchase seeds and poly bags. On the second morning of the workshops participants joined Makouti to plant seedlings in the forests. And listen to a talk by Jacquelin about seedling and tree care.

 

Coffee Workshops
Workshops were conducted for two days at the Ecole Moyenne d’Agriculture de Dondon (EMAD), a vocational boarding school for the producers. There were 53 participants, including 11 women. About half of them had participated in the conference at Makouti. The rest were local producers who could not come to Lory because of the limited space.

The first day consisted of two workshops; a discussion of quality management systems and  use of coffee lab equipment with James Kosalos; and a sensory skills test with Mery Santos, Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak and Gwen Straley,

James, his translator, Bernard Merius Estime, and revolving teams of Haitian coffee producers first learned to mill coffee using a small lab mill as is found in the FincaLab. The FincaLab is a portable coffee lab designed and manufactured by James Kosalos after 15 years of working with Mexican coffee producers.  It allows coffee analysis based on SCAA standards, to be done anywhere, increasing the feedback on coffee quality available to the people who grow the coffee.  This allows producers to make agricultural management choices that can improve quality directly. Next they sorted through coffee beans to learn about identifying defective beans.  These are important as they can affect the flavor of whole batches of coffee. The good beans were then tested and roasted in preparation for the cupping demonstration the next day.

       

Roasting samples                          The grinder donated by BUNN                 The lab set up

Groups were rotated through a second workshop, the sensory skills test which teaches and tests peoples’ ability to distinguish salty, sweet, and sour in various concentrations using specific mixtures. This allows people to determine if they are taste blind, average tasters or, super tasters, a significant skill for qualified, certifiable coffee cuppers.

  
Gwen, Myriam and Mery, setting up the Sensory Skills Test

Day two of the workshops consisted of a cupping workshop, and an Aroma Skills test or Nez du Café test with Mery Santos, Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, Gwen Straley, James Kosalos, and Benito Jasmin.

The morning workshop was an introduction to aroma skills which involves a test kit called the Nez du Café. The kit contains vials of the most typical aromas found in the world's top coffees. Aromas and aroma identification are essential to the quality of a product; it is important to be able to recognize them in order to master tasting. Participants worked in groups to identify aromas and rotated between tables representing the different aroma groupings. It was an interesting experience to see them get better and faster as they rotated from table to table.

     
Gwen sharing the aroma vials            Le Nez du Café set up             Mery Santos explaining the Aromas

The cupping portion of the workshop included ten Haitian producers who had scored the highest on the previous tests. The rest were observers and were able to cup and taste the coffee less formally afterwards. This format was chosen due to the number of people and the time limitations. Some had difficulties understanding why one would cup coffee in a manner that is so different than how people normally drink coffee.  Haitians are also used to drinking coffee with lots of sugar, so drinking black coffee was a strange notion. After a while most began to understand the idea of having a common standard to judge all plain coffee by and the importance of buyers and sellers using the same standard when discussing coffee.

     
The cupping set up                              Check the aromas                               Taking notes

While the workshops were a challenge to organize and exhausting, they were well received and very much appreciated.

Observations:

·         The trip and the conferences were quite successful despite being exhausting. We exceeded expectations, but it took some doing to obtain all the materials needed and to set up the workshops.

·         Haiti can be logistically challenging. While we were fortunate to not run out of fuel we did experience electrical shortages which resulted in some uncomfortable nights and the need for generators to run laptops and power points. Until the work on Haiti’s electrical system is completed, electricity cannot be relied on even during the world cup.

·         More workshops and lectures are needed to address the many questions brought up and to build more confidence in coffee export. Concerns about contracts repeatedly come up due to the number of bad experiences in the past.

·         The women who participated are very motivated to seek out more information on coffee and to play a more visible role in the industry.

·         Makouti has made considerable improvements in their management and accounting practices that have made it considerably easier to track expenses and stick to a budget. With practice it will get smoother and able to handle multiple large projects at once. Kudos to Makouti.

Recommendations:

·         Continue looking for grants to set up a chapter of the IWCA in Haiti.

·         Continue to pursue an innovation grant to introduce the FincaLab into Haiti in partnership with Makouti, Kok Ki Chante, Haiti Coffee and Singing Rooster

·         Bring in volunteers who can teach and design contract templates for producers and cooperatives that are fair to both buyers and sellers

Results:

·         Coffee samples are trickling in and now being professional cupped for free thanks to the generosity of Aleece Bruckner of VolCafe in Petaluma, CA

·         James Kosalos’ article on our trip was posted on the Global Coffee Report
http://gcrmag.com/news/article/fincalab-supports-coffee-quality-training-in-haiti

·         Gwen Straley posted on her blog
http://3rdcreekfoundationblog.org/2014/07/11/can-coffee-reduce-poverty-reflections-from-haiti/

·         Both articles are also posted on HaitiCoffee’s blog at:
http://haiticoffee.blogspot.com/

·         Mery Santos’ article on the IWCA site
http://www.womenincoffee.org/quality-management-workshop-haitian-coffee-farmers

 

NEXT STEPS and FUTURE VOLUNTEER NEEDS

·         There is evidence of some seedling damage that may be caused by nematodes.  Makouti and the producers could use some help with techniques to sterilize the soil or eliminate the nematodes.

·         We need assistance with the identification of some diseases that are affecting the coffee trees

·         A standardized buyers/sellers contract is needed for the exportation of green coffee.  Many of the cooperatives are clueless on how to create one and very suspicious since they have heard many bad stories. It should be in French and English and possibly Creole. A protocol and power point should also be created to help educate Haitian sellers

·         Create a system for reliable delivery of coffee samples to potential buyers

·         Cooperatives have a need for accounting forms, Gross sales, expenses, other income, assets (equipment), etc.

·         Coffee cupping, analysis of coffee beans and establishment of a Quality Assurance System

·         Makouti/ Farmer to Farmer office needs the following items:

      Solar powered generator to charge batteries for more reliable electricity
Folding Chairs
Small staplers for on the road. Files keep getting mixed up
Lockable small portable file box (Like a cash box only vertical for files)
Manila envelopes to better organize files on the road

      Plastic takeout food containers to avoid using Styrofoam throw aways

·         Haiti Coffee, Makouti and the International Women’s Coffee Alliance have jointly applied for an APS grant through USAID. This will allow for 3 years of support to develop the Haiti chapter of the IWCA, register it in Haiti and in the USA with the International chapter, followed by a Women in Coffee conference for its members in the third year.

·         In an effort to improve the quality of the coffee in Haiti, Haiti Coffee and Makouti are assisting San Cristobol Coffee Importers, the makers of the portable FincaLab and Quality Management System, to apply for a Development Innovation Venture grant with USAID. This grant would help develop a protocol for introducing the FincaLab and QMS into new countries and scale them up. http://www.fincalab.com/systemdescription.html.  Haiti would serve as a model for future countries. This would help Haiti have a standardized quality assurance program with certified cuppers with a transparent, accountable and trusted QMS.

PERSONAL REFLECTION

After 21 trips to Haiti, it is hard for me to see Haiti with fresh eyes. Having started my experiences in development in Niger, West Africa in the early 1980’s as a Peace Corps volunteer, during a historical drought, I find Haiti a paradise with minor discomforts. In Niger, I lived in a mud brick house with no electricity and no running water surrounded by drought refugees who lived in tents made of palm leaves and goat hides. I had a concrete floor and a shaded veranda where refugee friends jealously gathered to sip my water, iced in a kerosene refrigerator. Living on $3 a day, I was rich, wealthy and living in luxury by comparison to those outside my gate. Being my friend, gave refugees status. Opening my door to everyone ruined it for all.  Somewhere in between was a balance.

    

Identifying and keeping a relative balance in my head and in my work, sometimes complicated by tropical illnesses like malaria, dysentery and just too many bug bites was challenging. I reminded myself often that my time there was finite and had many amazing experiences that made it all worthwhile. Whereas, for my friends, it wasn’t so easy. It was to be their entire life.  No plane date to offer relief. Their idea of hope was that things would be better in the future, for their children, but not likely for them unless Allah wished it. Thirty years later… there is just 3 times as many people hoping.

Hope is as vital to life as food and water. With that hope comes the drive to gain knowledge and to pass it on through time, generation by generation. As development workers, we are part of that chain of knowledge. One that can create cross linkages from one culture to another. With some luck and a good cross cultural understanding, strong transfers of knowledge can be achieved.

Our wealth of knowledge in developed countries can be beneficial, but it can also be useless or even detrimental to those living in poverty. Knowing what to transfer, and when, is a skill.  At its foundation is experience, honest communication and real understanding between beneficiaries and development workers. Often this is where things begin to go wrong, misunderstandings happen, feelings get hurt, projects fail and sustainability ends.

Sustainability is key to getting the Haitian coffee industry back on its feet. Since this will involve a host of people all along the value chain, it is important that deep understanding of each other’s role and realities be achieved. Connecting the two ends of the value chain can seem like a good idea, but the reality can often be challenging. Because it is vital, efforts must be made, and balance achieved.

It is my hope that our program will achieve this by bringing together interested and experienced members of the coffee value chain to learn about each other lives, and how we can best transfer knowledge to build an effective and sustainable industry. Thank you for this opportunity.