Long-Term "Green" Planning

For those of you who haven't heard, we are making some long-term "green" plans. Some of you may immediately think "green = environmentally friendly" but that's not what we're talking about here. In the words of Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that," but that's just not the type of green that's got us excited here at Lasaters.

We've been researching, as we do daily, about investing in green coffee farms in Guatemala. We've received some green coffee samples from some coffee growers in different regions of Guatemala.

Current Plan(s):

Purchase highly favored Guatemalan coffees direct from coffee growers with small-medium plantations. Lasaters staff will travel to various regions in Guatemala to immerse ourselves into the coffee culture there and determine which coffees are suitable for the Lasaters brand. Lasaters will develop the relationship(s) needed to secure long-term business relations with coffee growers who provide a superior coffee.

Long-Term Plan(s):

It's been our desire to develop relationships with coffee growers in various countries. Our first step is Guatemala. As the Lasaters brand grows we would like to purchase some property in Guatemala. Once the property is purchased we would arrange the following:

1. Plant coffee trees on the property.
2. Build or purchase a wet mill.
3. Contruct housing for the plantation.

We would meet with local churches in the area near the plantation to discuss job opportunities, such as, harvesting, management, etc.

The coffee farm would sell their coffee to Lasaters Corporation and other US importers, at a fair market price, on contract or once the coffee has been harvested. The profit from the green coffee sales would then flow to the farmers, their families and the local churches who helped establish the plantation.

My Thoughts

Now, this would be a HUGE undertaking for us, but, we've got Favor. :) If it is something that we are supposed to do we will definitely need help and guidance. I've been learning a few things from a very special person in Guatemala who has worked with Anacafe in the past and has a great history of coffee knowledge. Her name is Gabriela Cordon.



Expect to hear more about her as she is our first contact who has already helped us with sourcing some fine coffees this summer. Gabriela has a Twitter account if you are interested in learning more about her coffee travels: http://twitter.com/arreagacordon

If you have any thoughts about our future plans please don't hesitate to contact me. We're always looking for new ways to grow our business while investing in people.

Thanks for reading!
Mat Lasater
Lasaters Corporation
Lasaters Coffee & Tea