Despite many good isolated efforts, the coffee value chain is structurally out of balance. More than 70% of all coffee farmers worldwide have to sell their beans for less than market prices while people in the West decide how to sell their coffees. This inequality is the main reason coffee farming is one of the lowest means of existence in the tropics, all while today's connected world has all the tools to change their destiny.

Needless to say, a structural shift is needed. While most middlemen in coffee absorb information to their own benefit, we do exactly the opposite. This Side Up is an importing company that actively empowers farmers to become their own quality experts, ecologists, exporters and storytellers - making them masters of their own fates. By empowering farmers instead of taking away control, a tiny company like ourselves has been able to create higher wages, social justice and ecological awareness for thousands of farmers worldwide.

In the last five years, we have inspired not just farmers but people on all ends of the chain to open up, share their resources and create common value for the benefit of the entire network. Some examples:

- Farmers share their production methods so other farmers worldwide can learn from them.

- Likeminded exporters and ourselves as importers share their cost breakdown to show where and how they are adding value.

- Roasters share their roast profiles so other roasters worldwide can make the most of the farmers’ hard work.

- Baristas share their direct experiences among farmers with coffee drinkers everywhere to inspire them to support openness and compassion in the coffee world.

We currently work with farming communities in eleven countries on three continents, and with roasters and baristas in more than 20 countries. 

Find out more about our work at thissideup.coffee.

This Side Up Coffees

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