For many of us, our morning cup of coffee is one of the simplest, most comforting moments of our day. But there is one way we could make it a little sweeter (besides extra sugar).
What if you could know that your mug of coffee isn’t just giving you energy, but giving others clean water and education? A nonprofit coffee company called Three Avocados has brought that idea to life.
It started when the founder, Joe Koenig, took a trip to Uganda, and saw, “a world where people actually live in mud huts. A world where children are literally starving. Where the nearest water source is a mile away, and you’ll get sick if you drink it. A world where orphans are raised by the village. A world rampaged by AIDS, malaria, and thousands of other things I couldn’t even imagine.“There was a moment during that trip where I sat on a bus and stared out the window at a young man that was about my same age. I looked at him as he lay under a tree in complete exhaustion…I understood that I was no different than he. That I certainly had not done anything to deserve to be born in the United States with endless opportunities placed in front of me. It was the moment when I realized that I wanted to do something to try and help the less fortunate of the world. That I wanted to make a difference because of what I had been given.”
In February of 2010, he founded Three Avocados. The company was named for a woman he met at a church service in Bulopa, Uganda. The pastors there aren’t paid, so they survive off the villages’ offerings. The woman donated all of her own food, which was three avocados, so the pastor could eat.
100% of Three Avocados’ net proceeds provide clean water in Uganda and education in Nicaragua, with hopes to expand in the future.
Their coffee is made from 100% Arabica beans from Mt. Elgon in Uganda. The mountain shares borders with the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia, and with Kenya, also known for its amazing coffee.
Between $0.50 and $3.00 from each bag of coffee sold provides clean water, depending on the channel where the coffee is purchased (online purchases provide the most support).
This year, Three Avocados is teaming up with Compassion International to provide funding for their Water of Life program, which provides filtration units for households in Uganda. Each filtration unit can provide clean drinking water for a household for life!
Their Past Projects page also charts their total impact: “Thanks to your support, 20,010 people have been reached.” Displaying their impact in terms of people reached, instead of in financial terms, is an incredibly effective way to show donors and investors the value of their organization.
Connect with Three Avocados through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ or Tumblr.
