Birds & Bees Peruvian Sale
Now, before you get any ideas in your head, we're talking about Birds, as in Bird-Friendly® certifications and Bees, as in saving the bees and other pollinators from neonicotinoids! Today we want to spread the message of hope and action! Here's some welcome GOOD news - all while giving you a sale (SCROLL DOWN) on our Bird-friendly® Peruvian coffees.
The Birds...
Pangoa from Peru is still our model cooperative partner when it comes to Bird-Friendly® coffee, and it's a model we're now trying to replicate in Sumatra and Mexico! When we approached Pangoa about getting Bird-friendly® certified, it began a deep relationship with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. We're asking questions in Sumatra, now, based on the lessons we learned in Peru - which native trees need to be planted? what percentage of the farm needs to have what type of shade canopy? - and then mobilizing new nurseries and tree plantings.
In Sumatra, we're up to 13,000 native trees planted. (Cue our happy chicken dance!) In Mexico, we are currently in the early stages of program development, with high hopes for 2020.
The Bees...
This year, we started partnering with NOFA-Mass to do some serious lobbying and legislative work on banning neonicotinoids, a super common pesticide. We know how delicate the balance is for pollinators here and in the coffeelands, and the continued use of "neonics" is wreaking havoc on these crucial creatures around the world. We'll keep you a-buzz of the situation, sharing more about our efforts when the bills hit the Mass legislature in the late winter.