Long Miles Coffee Project
In 2013, the Long Miles Coffee Project was founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson as a reaction to injustice and poor practices in Burundi’s (then newly privatized) coffee industry.They saw the needs of producers and roasters alike were underrepresented, and have strived ever since to provide transparency and great coffee quality in the country they call home.
They provide year-round agricultural assistance to farmers through 26 Long Miles Coffee Scouts (more later), pay higher prices for cherries, as well as annual premiums, and serve as the bridge between roasters and farmers, to create and strengthen relationships across the world. Starting with only 50 partner farmers in their first year, Long Miles now work with over 5,500 farming families in Burundi, exponentially impacting the coffee industry there for the better.
The Coffee Scouts
The Coffee Scouts of Long Miles are 26 independent and well trained agronomists who live in the hills where coffee is grown. Each harvest season the Scouts can be found in the field guiding farmers through such processes as selective picking and cherry quality control. Beyond harvest, they’ll guide partners in mulching and fertilization technique, pruning practices, growing shade trees, and more in efforts to improve practices year after year.The Scouts have even partnered with member farmers to establish Farmer Field Schools, which are small model coffee farms used as a place for practice, learning, and community development.
What started as a fledgling pilot project, has become integral to the success of Long Miles, and to the farmers who partner with them.They have high hopes for Burundi’s coffee, and for the improvement of the farmers who grow it.They are at the cutting edge of innovation and education, and point to a better future for generations of Burundian coffee farmers.
