Technical Services for Quality Coffee
Contact name: Alexandra Katona-Carroll
Email: akatona@coffeeinstitute.org
Phone: 562.624.4190
Project URL: www.coffeeinstitute.org
Organization Name: Coffee Quality Institute
Project: Technical Services Program
Project location: Worldwide
Projected Impact: Hundreds each year
Project Description
Founded in 1996, the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) works to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of the people who produce it. While the mission is broad, CQI’s reach has been profound, attributable to our Technical Services Program. Our organization has a stronghold on providing technical services to coffee producing origins and is recognized as the training organization for the industry. On any given month, we are out in the field teaching producers how to process coffee more efficiently or teaching a Q Course via one of our brilliantly talented Q Instructors.
The Technical Services Program provides training and assistance to coffee producers and other individuals in the arabica and robusta supply chains to increase the value and volume of quality coffee production. These technical services address everything from research to agronomy to business development, and our measurable global impact is tied to these programs. Designed and managed by CQI staff, this work is completed at origin by utilizing industry experts and Coffee Corps™ volunteers (volunteer consultants).
Coffee Corps™ volunteers are experts in their field and are uniquely qualified and chosen for each particular assignment, many of which are completed through grant and government funding. These volunteers donate their time to help producers improve different facets of their businesses, and at the same time, they get exposed to the challenges and current state at origin.
Marcelo Pereira, Coffee Corps™ volunteer, commented, “I started as a volunteer at CQI due to my passion for coffee, as many of us often do. After several assignments in Ethiopia and Uganda alongside top coffee professionals, I have not just learned more, but rather the experience has changed me. Today, I see quality coffee as just a consequence of human growth through skill development and responsible management of the environment. So, I am not just focused on the taste of coffee anymore, I am focused on the people and how the pursuit of quality could improve their lives. This is what I work for and what we work for at CQI.”
In some cases, these Coffee Corps™ Volunteers develop friendships with the various producers that they carry with them for the rest of their career. In short, these assignments prove to be mutually beneficial for both players.
At any given moment, CQI is working in a coffee producing country in one aspect or another, and we encourage all players in the supply chain to reach out to CQI and see how they can get involved and make a difference. CQI’s programs and innovative approaches to economic sustainability allow coffee producers to become active participants in the supply chain and make investments for their future.
What You Can Do to Help
To learn more, please visit us at www.coffeeinstitute.org or feel free to email info@coffeeinstitute.org.
