After A Terrible Cup Of Joe In The Office, A Founder Decided To Bring African Coffee Traditions Stateside

Kahawa 1893 prioritizes small producers and premium beans, while also offering consumers a virtual pot to support its suppliers When she was a child growing up in , Margaret Nyamumbo learned about a custom that took place on her grandfathers coffee farm every few weeks, the women who worked there would gather around a table and drop money into a large pot. Anyone who had contributed had the right to later retrieve funds in the form of a small loan. This so-called system, which is a custom in Kenya, helped women involved in the trade support one another. Kenyan women, who historically are denied land ownership and therefore the ability to take out loans, provide 90 of labor on coffee farms but own just 1 of the land.