If the first half of 2020 made anything clear, it’s that the world is far from perfect.
It felt as though every social issue out there suddenly piled up, & with it came the feeling of uncertainty. Considering that our purchases have both a local & a global impact, what businesses should we choose to support?
Last year, Ampersand Coffee Roasters partnered with Mighty Peace Coffee—a company devoted to providing ethically sourced coffee beans. The inspiration for the organization’s mission comes from the horrific narrative of the Congo, a narrative many people are only vaguely aware of. Mighty Peace wants to use coffee, one of the world’s most popular industries, as a way to help the Congolese people take back their nation’s story.
The Congo has a history entangled with violence dating back to the 1870s when the Belgian ruler, King Leopold II, began his imperialist reign over the area. Due to oscillating control between an array of militant groups, the Congo has remained war torn.
The most recent conflict began in the 1990s because of the genocide of Tutsis & moderate Hutus. Malicious military forces involved in the slaughter turned to the precious minerals from the Congo as a source of income. A report published by the Enough Project revealed that in 2008 alone, military groups obtained an estimated $185 million from conflict minerals—resources directly linked to killings, violence, rape, and other human rights violations.
Profit made off of conflict minerals was a major support-beam to a regional war responsible for 5.4 million civilian fatalities as of 2009. The death toll can be broken down to approximately 45,000 deaths per month, half of those being children. This cost even surpasses the number of civilian casualties resulting from the nation’s involvement in WWII.
Abusive use of precious minerals is a direct source of unspeakable suffering for the Congolese people, & for years they have attempted to restore peace to their nation.
Mighty Peace Coffee wants to help foster a new economy. If an alternate source of income is created, if the trade is altered to place money in the hands of the people, peace stands a chance.
JD Stier, the founder of Mighty Peace Coffee, heard the Congo’s story when he lived with a Congolese refugee in Madison, WI. Afterward, Stier visited the Congo several times & saw the aftermath firsthand. But, Stier also saw hope: an ever-strengthening movement to overcome the past. The Congo has the ability to grow exquisite coffee, & JD Stier realized the crop was a gateway to the region’s transformation.
One of Mighty Peace’s founding principles was to craft contracts that benefited the workers rather than exploiting them. JD Stier & CEO Liza Elena Pitsirilos vowed to pay workers of their partnered farms above the fair trade labor standard. The two also pledged only to source from farms owned & operated by women, many of whom are survivors of sexual assault. They saw impacts almost immediately.
New opportunities, rooted in both general & higher education, became accessible due to higher wages. The need & desire to join militant groups plummeted. More jobs were created that stimulated the community rather than the conflict mineral industry. Local employment reduced the need for women to travel by bus—commutes plagued by the common possibly of abduction, murder, & sexual assault. All of these factors stripped power from violence & instead empowered the Congo’s peaceful revolution.
But despite all of its sincerity and passion, Mighty Peace Coffee still faces challenges in the distribution of their beans & their message. Even though the unique quality of the farm’s soil yields a coffee low in acidity and showcases all the flavors of surrounding crops and aromatics, interest in the Congo’s coffee beans remains rather low. JD Stier thinks this might be due to a stigma against African coffee. After all, the world has a history of refuting and burying narratives from the African continent.
Mighty Peace Coffee isn’t just a coffee distributor. It’s a source of empowerment. Acknowledging this company and the exceptional coffee they provide returns power to the Congolese people. If we, as consumers, must put our money into the hands of a business, what better way than to funnel resources into a community in need of empowerment? Tasting an exquisite coffee doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure anymore. Instead, hitting that brew button every morning can bring a little bit of hope back to 2020 and the Congolese peace movement.
