Finding a Coffee Farm

When we decided to open a coffee shop we did our research on what coffees were available to us in Peru.  Right away we weeded out anything that wasn’t certified fair-trade and organic and from there we began testing for the best tasting coffee.  Well it didn’t take long to pick the winner.  Tunki coffee, produced by a small producer co-op near Puno, has been an international award winner (1st place in 2010) and maintains high quality taste year over year.  For almost two years now we have been purchasing Tunki coffee through for use in our cafe and for sales in the US.  While we have wanted to take a trip to the valley to visit the coffee plantations and operations an opportunity just hadn’t arisen; until this month.  Greg, Alfredo and I were able to arrange a trip to visit the main coffee factory in Juliaca and then travel on to Sandia (the valley) to visit one of the co-op’s headquarters and to visit with some of the owners of the hillside coffee plantations.
 
The journey was an interesting combination of excellent and harrowing.  The harrowing part was the travel out to the valley from Juliaca.  Sadly I don’t have pictures to do the description justice but just imagine yourself in 15 passenger van going downhill around sheer mountain cliffs on a one lane road while needing to pass cars or make room for cars coming up the hill.  On top of that there were hairpin turns aplenty and a driver who loved to drive at breakneck speeds.  We were all very thankful to arrive in the valley safely.  We stayed in the small town of Massiapo where the Inambari coffee co-op is located.  One of the members of this co-op submitted a sample to the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) this year and was ranked 3rd best in the world.  The co-op president took us out to visit two different plantations about an hour outside of town, high up on the side of the mountains (about 1800 meters up).  Though we arrived post harvest we were able to see quite a lot.  Plants still laden with beans, beans laid out for drying, a newly developed area with recently planted coffee plants, and more.  Back in Massiapo that afternoon we were treated to a cupping seminar by the co-op’s resident coffee specialist, Rigoberto (a licensed Q grader).  He prepared five different coffee samples for testing.  He talked us through how to officially cup (test) the coffee and how to officially score using international scoring guidelines.  The lesson was very interesting and Greg especially enjoyed himself as he graded the coffee samples with Rigoberto.
 
We were so grateful to CECOVASA (the parent organization of the various co-ops) for hosting us at their factory and for arranging our guides in the valley.  As we prepare to ramp up sales of CUDA coffee through exporting to the US we felt it necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the coffee we sell.  This trip was an eye-opener and has given us a lot of ideas for our business going forward.  Enjoy the pictures!

Forward Progress

So far 2013 has been a very important year for CUDA.  It has been year of ups and downs, a year of consolidation, adjustment, innovation and vision-casting.  The year has also had its fair share of uncertainty, scrambling for solution, going-back-to-the-drawing-board, and prayerful seeking for guidance.  I guess, when I put it that way, it’s been like most years in our NGO’s short history.  However this year has seen some very special things happen.  Things whose ramifications will be felt (and appreciated) for years to come.

First, we’ve reached a milestone in our bid for validation from the Peruvian government.  We have received authorization from Peru to operate as an NGO offering technical expertise in development programs.  CUDA now has its own business ID number, can officially formalize contracts and other documents with government and business entities, and can obtain visas for volunteers and workers, among other things.  This was one of our primary goals for the year and it feels good to have all of this finally taken care of, though it in no way means we are done dealing with the government.

Then, once the government officially recognized us as a foreign NGO operating in Peru we had to begin the process of having our projects officially approved.  To do this required a partnership with a local organization, government or otherwise, to execute the program.  You may have seen the update on our Facebook page but a few months ago we signed an agreement with the regional Ministry of Education validating the Living Library program, giving us official government backing and support.  Having this project approved means we can also begin to request visas for our volunteers and project collaborators instead of having to use other organizations to acquire our visas.

In regard to the vision of the organization, the potential for growth in the library program has spurred us into finalizing our NGO’s 5-year plan both for itself as an organization and for each project specifically.  Forming these plans is beneficial not just from a strategy standpoint but from a fundraising standpoint also.  For example, once planning/dreaming began for the library it soon became evident that the program had vast potential for growth and a need for formal funding.  To that end we have begun to send letters to grant-makers detailing the program and its needs.  Be in prayer for this process as we would like to push for significant growth in the program in 2014 but need the funding to come through to make it happen.

One last new development to share with you this month is that plans are in motion now to begin sending CUDA Coffee to the US in larger quantities with the goal of establishing consistent, substantial monthly sales.  We know that many of you have purchased a bag or two when we’ve managed to bring it back with us and appreciate your collaboration.  With greater availability we think many of you, and others, will decide to make CUDA Coffee your regular in-house coffee.  As always all profits go to the NGO and its work in Arequipa.  We hope to be selling coffee full-time by December.

We are continually grateful for you, our stateside supporters.  We depend on your FB Likes, your Twitter retweets, supportive comments while on furlough, micro-loans made, books donated, monthly and random donations, and prayer.  Put plainly we wouldn’t be here now with you.  Thanks for being there for us now and for making us confident of our ability to continue our work into the future.

Library Event with Ministry of Education [Facebook gallery]

CUDA View

Over the past few months we’ve been able to report great news regarding the library program.  Teachers are being trained, kids are learning to love reading and recently the Ministry of Education gave our program their stamp of approval.  Receiving official government backing gives the Living LIbrary program real validity and will help us in the future as we begin expanding the program to new schools.  Lucia has really grown into her role as director of the library program and Megan is staying busy training her in the techniques she’ll need to continue the program’s success.  
 
At the end of June CUDA was sad to say goodbye to Neil Cantrall.  Neil has worked with CUDA as an expert volunteer for about a year.  With years of experience as a bilingual teacher, his contribution to the library program was invaluable.  Neil and his family moved to Lima to start a job with an international school.  We wish him the best and ask you to be praying for their transition to a new home, new school for their kids, and new ministry opportunity.
 
In other news, a new borrower group received their first no-interest loans and had their first meetings.  I love sitting through the first meeting of each group because Paty always starts at the same place.  She spends the first meeting having each borrower define what a business is, what a business does, and then hammers home the point that they are businesswomen (or men).  Having a business is something important, something valuable.  All too often our borrowers don’t see what they do as important, or as having value and that often times gets reflected back on them.  So basically our first meetings are pep-rallies not only building their pride in their work but also their self-worth/esteem.  I love getting to experience that first meeting with each group, and to see the foundation for all following meetings being laid.
 
I would like to ask that you be praying for CUDA in the area of fundraising.  This is not a plea for donations (though I won’t turn anything way) but to let you know of some opportunities that have arisen.  Specifically, we are submitting proposals to Rotary clubs both in Peru and in the US that could begin funding the library program’s 5 year plan.  We will also be applying for other grants hoping to secure long-term funding.  Be praying that both individual and group donors step in to keep CUDA running!

The Inauguration

This month is going down in the books for me. We have waited and waited to see the first Living Library inaugurated in the public school setting, and it finally happened. It was such an exciting event for me, and I was full of emotion. We have been approved by the ministry of education to offer staff development hours to the professional teaching community in Arequipa and its surrounding districts. Last year, we were seeking out schools to begin our first library setting. Alfredo told me that we have four schools already asking to be the home of our next library for next year. The principals and teachers are eager to hear new strategies for teaching reading, and it is such a blessing to take part in a program that offers that opportunity to them.

The inauguration was a beautiful event. The minister of education, the director of staff development, the Rotary and Interact Clubs, principals from several of the surrounding schools, and one of our visiting board members, David Fann, all attended the special event along with the school and CUDA staff. I was presented with a special pin from the minister of education as a symbol of his approval of the program. The school year has gone so well thus far. We are far beyond blessed to have reached this point with the Library Program. Thanks to all of you that have supported us in this endeavor. I wanted to share some pictures from the special day:

Standing with the minister of education and the director of staff development

The minister of education handing over the signed papers to Alfredo, CUDA executive director

Lucia (CUDA Living Library director) and me posing with most of the teachers from the school from this school year

David Fann with the CUDA staff (Greg, David, Megan, Alfredo, Lucia, Abraham)

Recent Developments

CEDETE

We're through a third of the first trimester in the Basic Theology program of the Theological Development Center.  Abraham and I instruct four students—Cirilo, Emilia, Paty, and Alfredo—three afternoons a week for an hour and a half.  This trimester is an overview of the Old Testament, with a focus on the spiritual disciplines of prayer and study, as well as various techniques for reading comprehension and critical thinking.  Megan asks me how class was every time I come home, and my response has been, "Fun."  I'm having a blast.  More importantly, the students are really engaged, and I think the focused, intensive learning is already making a difference.  I was moved to hear Alfredo apply some our first lessons in his speech at the library inauguration.  Likewise, Emilia has been immediately sharing her new insights in her weekly small group with Megan and Areli.  I thank God for these Christians who are sacrificing time for class and homework in order to become better servants of God's mission.

Community Development

The flood relief effort has given us just the opportunity we were looking for.  By focusing relief on a particular area, we've been able to form more substantial relationships than a less selective approach would have allowed.  Abraham in particular has led the effort.  The outgrowth of this relationship has been the formation of an action group consisting of mothers from the cluster of neighborhoods where we distributed the relief.  We are helping to organize and equip them to mobilize their resources and abilities for community development.  If things go well in the next few weeks, we should be celebrating an official agreement between their newly formed organization and CUDA.  They have already brainstormed some initial goals, such as the formation of a community daycare or a kitchen for subsidized meals.  There are a lot of possible obstacles ahead, so pray for our work in this area.

Making Connections

We have now been in the boys school for the month of April.  It is so exciting to see the library space actually become a reality.  We bought colorful furniture and curtains, had the walls painted white, and arranged a large carpeted area for the kids to be able to sit down and read.

Before

After

I am thoroughly enjoying my work with Neil and Lucia.  Neil is a fellow missionary with a background in bilingual primary teaching.  Lucia is the new CUDA staff member of the library program.  We seem to have a good time together and compliment each other's gifts.

The teachers are excited about the program.  We kicked off the first Thursday of the month with our first staff development meeting.  Counting the after-school staff meetings, the modeling time on Thursdays and Fridays in the libraries, the additional library scheduled hours, and observation lessons (CUDA staff observing teachers’ use of strategies), the teachers will be able to earn up to 100 hours of staff development this school year.  Increase in salary is an incentive to teachers that earn staff development hours throughout the year.  We hope for the ministry of education to put their stamp of approval on our plan and seal the deal with an inaugural signing very soon.  It is in the works.
 
This month we are teaching the strategy “Making Connections.”  The children are catching on (though we are spending a lot of time on procedures and routines of the library space).  As for the days that I work with first through third grades, I have read-aloud, organized several group activities, incorporated the teachers into helping model the strategies for the students, and allowed time for the students to read on the carpets.  The free-reading time is my absolute favorite.  First and second grade still skim through the pages.  They love the colorful illustrations.  But the last time that I taught the third grade, it was like pulling teeth to get them to put their books away to get ready to leave.  The picture of those boys immersed in reading and enjoying it is what makes this program completely worthwhile to me.

I recently read a quote that I would like to share: 

“I was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. I grew up in the projects. I never went anywhere. But I have lived a thousand lives. I have loved a thousand loves. I’ve wandered distant worlds and seen the end of time because I read.”

— George R. R. Martin

The location could easily be changed to Arequipa in this quote.  It is my prayer that many of our students can make the same statement one day about their experience in the Living Libraries program.

Cafe Connection

In late 2011, we asked for help in funding a new facet of our work here in Arequipa, Café Connection.  Thanks to your help we were able to obtain a building for not just the cafe but that would also serve CUDA in a variety of ways.  We opened the cafe in February of last year in what we thought would be its home for a long time, but plans often change unexpectedly here and this was no exception.  Due to problems with the building’s ownership, we were forced to look for a new place, resulting in our current location in downtown Arequipa.  Strategically, this location is far superior and we feel blessed to have found it, and to have gotten such a good deal from the owner.  After only three months of regular operation in the new location, we are seeing more clients and higher sales than we had begun to have at the previous location.
 
This is important because we didn’t open the cafe just to have a place to hang out, nor to drink delicious coffee.  We opened this business to begin generating income for the organization as part of a long-term strategy of sustainability, and to open new avenues for spreading news of our social justice projects in Arequipa.  It is quite rewarding to see how far the cafe has come after a year in operation, especially considering that four months ago we changed location.  Already the cafe is nearing self-sustainability and with the added traffic of being downtown, the cafe workers are having lots of opportunities to share about CUDA projects.  Just today, a couple from Florida, who had visited the cafe yesterday and learned about us, dropped off books for the library program.  They had brought books with them to donate to a voluntourism agency, but after learning about our work yesterday decided to leave them with us.  We’ve made contact with other NGOs, tourist agencies, and businesses with whom we might partner, all thanks to the cafe.  The cafe has also served as a place for our churches to host events such as women’s meetings, parenting seminars and college student gatherings.  
 
So a big thank you to all of you who have prayed for Cafe Connection to be a success both financially and ministerially.  Keep praying!  Soon we’ll officially launch a language school, our next step toward keeping CUDA as self-sustaining as possible.  You can stay in the know by following CUDA and Cafe Connection on FB or Twitter.

Development and Relief

The Christian Urban Development Association.  That is the name of our NGO.  This is where you consider skipping the rest of my article.  But seriously, have you stopped to consider what we decided to say through our name?  We are Christians who have, as a formal group, decided to work towards development in an urban setting.  Our urban setting is obvious (Arequipa) and our Christianity is worked into the way in which we carry out our work.  The hard part of our title to really capture is: Development.  Now there are a lot of definitions for what development (in our case international development) means: freedom, good change, advancement technologies and many many more.  What I find we have the hardest time explaining sometimes is why we’ve chosen development over relief, and if we will ever partake in relief work.
 
Where development generally carries a long-term outlook on it (community planning, basic services acquisition, health care provision, economic development, empowerment, etc.) relief is a here-and-now enterprise.  Handing out food in a famine-stricken country, rebuilding homes after an earthquake, feeding/housing families displaced by natural disaster or war, etc.  In any city like ours you will find groups dedicated to both causes.  In the poor neighborhoods surrounding the city, groups will hand out food, clothing, clean water, school supplies and other items to families that spend each day just trying to get to the next.  In these same neighborhoods, some groups will instead dedicate their time to community development and planning, training unemployed husbands and wives in skills to help them land a job, advocating on behalf of communities with no running water that the city would see their need and respond.  As an NGO we’ve chosen to focus on improving the education system in individual schools by teaching teachers how to teach (Nice, right?) and through empowering small-business owners with small, no-interest loans to help them take one step forward, and then another, and then another.  We have other long term projects in the works but they all fall into the long-term development spectrum and we have not had any desire to branch out into relief.
 
It is no surprise that often our desires are swayed by what we experience.  On February 8, the city of Arequipa experience its highest ever recorded rainfall of 4.8+ inches in just 5 hours time.  For a city that can go a whole year without receiving such a small amount of rain you, can imagine the consequences.  Slightly sloped streets became swiftly-flowing rivers two feet deep that could knock a grown man off his feet.  Car sized holes ripped open in the streets and, not surprisingly, cars fell into them.  The waterways/spillways throughout the city designed to keep streets clear ended up filled with mud and stone, causing water to spill out and the roads they were protecting to crumble and vanish into the flow.  We experienced this in my neighborhood where streets were “well-paved” and protected from rain.  In the poor neighborhoods on the mountainside where they have no paved roads, no drainage system and usually no electricity, the damage was less expensive but no less devastating for some families.  Houses filled up two or three feet high with mud ruining possessions and at times carrying them away completely.  Water and sewage pipes broke as the water took apart the ground itself, making it look like an earthquake had split the earth.  Some families came out of that storm just wet and cold.  Some families came out wet and cold realizing they had no food, clothing, blankets, or shelter.
 
In the face of this emergency situation, our organization is left trying to decide what we do.  While there is a way to “do relief” well, very often that does not happen.  While there is a way to do it well, we have no experience in this area.  Even still we are being stirred to some response for certain neighborhoods where we have a connection and would ask for your prayers and support as we assess what help we will provide to these families.  Since we have no money budgeted for emergency relief we will be seeking people to partner with us in our response.  I ask you to be praying, now, for how you might help one of your global neighbors in a time of need.  More information and details will be forthcoming and I appreciate your patience, prayers, and the support you all are always so faithfully extending to us.

Hiring and NGO Sustainability

People sometimes ask us why we, as a development organization seeking sustainability, hired three full-time Peruvian employees last year.  Sometimes they ask us this to lead into a follow-up question: Does CUDA intend to hire more full-time national workers?  The short answer is yes.
 
Our Peruvian directors (Alfredo, Abraham, and Paty) have begun the search for our next full-time worker who will be trained and then placed in charge of the library program.  We are quite excited at the potential candidate for this position, and for the sustainability and growth it will mean for our program.
 
As an organization we have had to make many decisions that not only affect our current situations but also will help direct the course of CUDA and its projects for many years.  One primary decision we made was to not take on high cost, short-term projects.  We believe that development requires time, dedication to goals, and expertise.  Instead of deciding to make our yearly budget project-heavy we decide to invest in experts.  To that end we hired our three Peruvian directors - Alfredo, Abraham, Paty - who have years of experience in their fields and a desire to promote the projects and goals of our organization.  By hiring them, we made an investment in the future of CUDA.  Instead of those high cost programs our goal is to create long-term yet low cost projects.  We want them to be easily reproduced in any Peruvian context so keeping costs low is important.  Our full-time employees ensure we have the manpower to reproduce our programs in multiple areas of our city without the need to seek non-experienced volunteer help.
 
In order to ensure the future of the library program our Peruvian directors determined that hiring a full-time director of the the program was the way to go.  The selected individual will be trained by Megan and eventually take over the planning and execution of the program. The library director will be hired by and will answer to CUDA’s Executive Director, Alfredo.  At the moment we have a presence in two schools but with dedicated employees promoting the program that number can and will grow.  We see many opportunities for growth with a full-time, empowered, passionate, Peruvian employee heading up the program.
 
So here’s where I ask you to pray for this process.  Alfredo, Paty and Abraham are beginning the process this week of refining our criteria and seeking out candidates.  As they work together to prepare and then interview the candidates pray that God would provide the right employee who will not only share our passion for literacy promotion but would also share our passion for the Kingdom of God.  We’ve seen Him provide us with the right people so far and we trust He will do so again.