Building Agency at Origin

Our main goal as a business is to enact change. And when it comes to the coffee business, that change goes hand-in-hand with dismantling colonial systems of exploitation. That change must start at home. Our coffee buying ethos considers many factors before profit, namely how not only to prevent harm at origin, but–and more importantly–increase farmers agency: and in our world, money is agency. 

This is why micro-financing is a fundamental pillar of our business model. There are a few ways that we engage with providing financial agency at origin, but there are three ways that we and our partners choose to do: choosing the right partners, direct contributions to producers, and investment into development.

A common refrain from many growers is simply that prices are not high enough to generate profits. All too often, the C-Price–which is used to set prices–just covers production costs, and sometimes, not even that. This is not a tolerable condition for us. It must be changed, but more importantly, I CAN BE CHANGED! 

For us, it begins by partnering with like minded people. Most of our coffees come through the importer Semilla. This importer’s driving philosophy is to take risks in an effort to transform the relationship of coffee producers and coffee consumers. This means that they take real efforts to consult with people at origin to find out what their needs are and how those can be met. For example, in 2024, Semilla paid double the market price to Honduran coffee farmers (one of our coffees on our menus received this price: Benito Sanchez). If one views any of our transparency reports, you will see that all were purchased above market prices, which is all too often below the poverty line. 

Another example of micro-financing in action is an initiative centered around the Indigenous Xinca people in Guatemala. The Canadian-based Pan-American Silver operates a silver mine on Xinca land which has not only harmed the water and soil of the region, but is actively working to further displace the Xinca people from their lands. A group of producers based around the Mataquescuintla region–known as Cafe Colis Resistencia–works to actively resist these corporate incursions into their territory. We support this resistance by not only buying La Resistencia coffee via Semilla at an increased cost; we also contribute to (both personally and via fundraising initiatives) direct cash funds which the Xinca can use as they see fit. Whether it is fixing equipment, paying a bill, or legal fees, it is all about building agency. 

Finally, the 2 coffees on our menu: Yolanda and Josephina, are particularly unique. These two women are producers out of Mexico. Over the past 2 years, we purchased their coffee at a premium (at nearly triple the market price). And over those past 2 years, both women were able to reinvest into their farms and double their annual yield. It is our hope that this development of their coffee output will allow them to enter the coffee market on a more even playing field. 

And when it comes down to it, the effort to build agency at origin is part of a wider desire to shift  coffee producers from price-takers into price-setters. Nearly universally, the price given is no better than poverty, and often below that. The logistics and semantics of the pricing market and how we at Rabbit Hole look to challenge that will be the subject for another blog. But for now, I hope that you got a little glimpse at how much you as a consumer can change the game just by choosing to buy coffee from us. You are helping to readjust the scale that has been tipped against farmers for decades. And we are grateful to have you along! ✊🏽