Say yes to sustainable coffee

Support coffee farmers by helping them to build farms for a sustainable future. Making a difference is Nespresso’s Reviving Origins programme from 2019 to 2023 to invest over S$14 million in the rebuilding of sustainable livelihoods for coffee farmers.

Says May Han, Country Manager of Nespresso Singapore, “In many regions, coffee farming is threatened for reasons such as climate change, conflict and a shifting global economy. Through this programme, Nespresso provides support to struggling coffee farming areas and helps breathe new life into local economies and communities in these regions.”

To bring coffee lovers closer to the farmers in the remote regions, Nespresso has partnered with National Geographic photographer Rena Effendi who has documented the impact of the Reviving Origins programme on the farmers online.

In Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains, the altitude and fertile soils are ripe for yielding an Arabica dreamland. 120km of snow-capped peaks and glaciers offer a steady water resource to nourish the soils. However, ageing trees and poor cultivation worsened by drought have resulted in poor harvests. Together with Agri Evolve, a young agribusiness dedicated to improving farmer productivity, Nespresso has been training more than 2,000 coffee farmers on cultivation and selection methods, including the selective picking of only red ripe cherries to improve productivity and the quality of their coffees.

In Zimbabwe, coffee production has tumbled from its peak of 15,0000 metric tons of green coffee to 500 tons in 2017 due to the climate and political issues. Together with global non-profit TechnoServe, Nespreso has been working with 450 smallholder farmers and 2 coffee estates to help them improve coffee quality and farming productivity. Seven agronomists have been brought to the region to work with the farmers on improving skills such as pruning, spraying and cutting as well as sustainable practices such as coffee processing and tree management.

In Colombia’s Caquetá region, internal conflict forced growers to abandon their farms, and coffee production was almost at a standstill until the peace treaty was signed in 2016. Nespresso works with more than 1,000 smallholder farms supported by four to six Nespresso agronomists. Nespresso trains local farmers on new techniques to ensure high-quality crops and to address some of the infrastructure challenges that exist in these areas by building wet mills or helping to establish coffee cooperatives.

Nespresso‘s new range of seasonal coffees are driving the sustainability agenda for coffee farming in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Colombia. The Reviving Origins range of coffees is now available online and at Nespresso boutiques. Individual sleeves are priced at S$11.00, while the Reviving Origins 3-sleeves pack, containing all three coffees, is priced at S$33.00.