Hilo | Coffee´s common thread
To make positive impact happen, we connect you directly to small-scale coffee farmers. Coffee that tastes great - and feels better.
While the price of a cup of coffee in Europe has been steadily increasing over time, the price farming families sell at often cannot even cover their costs. Why? Most of the profit stays in the middlemen’s hands. In HILO we aim to… Show more
What is this project all about?
The coffee trade system is broken.
In the conventional coffee trade system, the middlemen make money while families farm intensively just to scrape by through the year. They have to work very long, hard hours and are often the most immediately and directly affected by factors such as economic instability, exploitation, and the unpredictable effects of a changing climate. In addition, they have no choice but to live on loans and credits as they only get pai… Show more
What is the project goal and who is the project for?
Our main goal is to test our system by connecting the first stitches of our weave: one coffee-producing family and one educational project in Colombia, to a network of supporters in Germany. The Hilo system is already operational. The participants in Colombia have already fulfilled their part in this initial concept. We have 500 kg of coffee, a running educational project, and the corresponding regular monthly income payments, which started in May 2019. Wi… Show more
Why would you support this project?
By taking part in Hilo, you are supporting community development and an alternative system that provides a regular living income for small-scale coffee farmers and local-people engaged with educational projects in rural Colombia. Your support enables collaboration with local communities to solve societal challenges by improving their economic livelihood, building trust, and generating a long-term impact through the education of future generations. With you… Show more
How will we use the money if the project is successfully funded?
Our system has already been working at a small-scale prototype level since May 2019. With the initial investment we received, we have managed to pay for the logistics of shipping 500 kg of coffee (we made sure our value chain works), as well as a regular income for the family for 12 months, and the local administrator and the educational project for 6 months. This has already generated a huge impact on the community! Check out our blog posts to see the rep… Show more
Who are the people behind the project?
Our system is in the concept phase and includes one small-scale coffee producer and one educational project. The Giraldos, a family of six who have been growing coffee for 3 generations in the Vereda Morro Amarillo in Jardín, Antioquia in Colombia; and Patricia Arroyave, an educator who runs a literacy program for children in the rural community, an important initiative that brings a new perspective for the next generations by promoting a passion for readi… Show more
Hilo - Coffee's Common Thread
The all-or-nothing crowdfunding was successfully financed and completed
Denis (co-founder of Startnext)