Today is World Water Day, which is why it felt like the right time to announce our latest project: bringing safe, clean water to the Las Mesitas community in Nicaragua.
After the success of our project at Kenya’s Mwambui School, in partnership with clean water charity Just A Drop, we turned our attention to one of our other favourite coffee producers to see how we could lend a helping hand.
Why Nicaragua? Well, it’s the third poorest country in the Western hemisphere: 1.18 million people in rural parts of the country don’t have access to safe water, while 1.6 million don’t have access to adequate sanitation. That’s over a quarter of the population.
Besides, Nicaragua holds a special place in our hearts, providing beans for our fan-favourite George Street Blend. That’s why we wanted to give something back, in the form of a project which we’re hoping will change the lives of the people in the village of Las Mesitas.
So, we’ve teamed up with Just A Drop once again. They’re a charity who work with communities not only building sustainable safe water systems, but also on sanitation and hygiene projects to help transform local lives.
With your help on our funding, Just A Drop will be building a piped system connected to a drilled borehole in Las Mesitas, so that everyone in the community can finally have access to clean water, not to mention the important hygiene and sanitation that comes with it.
The project will provide clean water to 35 homes and 157 people, decreasing the prevalence of waterborne illnesses and ensuring a better life quality all around — from the children who’ll be able to spend more time in school, to the adults, especially local women, who’ll be able to progress economically thanks to time saved collecting water.
To fund the project, we’ll be donating proceeds from the Nicaraguan coffees, and we’ll also be putting in 50p from every single one of our enamel pins to make sure the initiative is a success.
We’ll keep you posted on how it all goes. In the meantime, thanks for helping us in our mission to use coffee as a force for good.
