Creating Good, One Cup at a Time
Using business to promote good. In this day and age, when the headlines are filled with stories of corporate greed, it’s hard to imagine that there are companies built on such a simple and uplifting principle. But at Pura Vida, they’ve done just that.
Pura Vida, which partners with Episcopal Relief & Development to produce our Bishops Blend Coffee and Teas, sells fair trade products that not only taste good, but also are grown according to sustainable practices. Their coffee is all shade grown, which means that it is cultivated in the traditional way, amongst forest trees. This approach decreases the risk of deforestation and erosion and protects the natural habitat of forest animals.
Pura Vida is committed to helping the farmers who cultivate the coffee and tea that they sell. As with all fair trade products, that means that the farmers they buy from are paid a living wage for their labor. But Pura Vida takes their responsibility even further, using company profits to support development and education projects in the communities that produce their coffees and teas.
The projects they support are as varied as the communities they work in. In the town of Santa Anita la Union, Guatemala, Pura Vida contributed a van so that the older children from the community could get to the only high school in the region, which was miles away. In Cerro Colorado, Nicaragua, Pura Vida supported development of a well and latrine system to ensure potable water to the small and isolated community. And in the Mixteca region of Mexico they’re helping a grower’s cooperative establish a roasting and grinding facility to diversify their product line and increase farmer income.
As part of our unique partnership with Pura Vida, 15% of all profits from the sale of Bishops Blend coffees and teas are used to support Episcopal Relief & Development projects around the world. During the holidays, Bishops Blend gift baskets make an especially meaningful gift. There has never been a better tasting way to do good! To learn more Bishops Blend coffees, teas and gift baskets, go to our website at http://www.episcopal-relief.org/church-in-action/church-campaigns/bishops-blend.
