Portland Roasting announces social responsibility program.

Portland Roasting, a specialty coffee micro-roaster, has announced a social responsibility program with Guatemala coffee grower Finca El Paternal, which will result in a new water treatment facility on the coffee farm, fair wages to the coffee grower and the farm's laborers, and the ability

"We're really excited to be able to have this kind of positive impact in one of the countries from which we get our products," said Mark Stell, managing partner for Portland Roasting. "We're a relatively small player in the coffee market, but we still can make a difference in terms of ecological sustainability and social responsibility. Hopefully, this will be the first of many announcements of this nature."

Under the program, Portland Roasting will pay a premium over the market price for Guatemalan coffees and has agreed to make El Paternal its exclusive supplier for non-organic Guatemalan beans ("Unfortunately, the farm does not carry an organic certification," Stell explained). The premium will be matched by the grower and used to build a water treatment facility to ensure water used in processing the beans in this parched climate is returned to the river free from contaminants. The water treatment facility will also allow the grower to reuse some of its water, thereby reducing the overall environmental burden of the farm.

It was important to Portland Roasting to pick a quality coffee. For two years in a rowa the El Paternal finca has placed among the top 15 in the ANACAFE's Cup of Excellence, a competition among Guatemala's 30,000 coffee growers sponsored by the country's specialty coffee association. Next it was important that the finca use sustainable growing and processing techniques. This meant the coffee had to be shade-grown, the finca needed to minimize use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, and the workers needed to be treated fairly. "If we're going to ask for all these things, we have a responsibility to pay a farmer-friendly price for the beans," Stell said. For Portland Roasting, "farmer friendly" means buying directly form the grower, so that the full price goes to the farmer and not some middleman. It also means working with growers to help make their operations more sustainable and making long-term commitments so the relationship can have meaningful results.

"This year with El Paternal, we're building a water treatment facility," said Stell. "Next year it might be a new school house for the finca, which has over 20 families employed and living on the farm."

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Portland Roasting is one of only a few Northwest specialty coffee companies to utilize a European drum roaster to roast fine coffees and espressos. Visit Portland Roasting the internet at www.portlandroasting.com.