Supporting Education in Mexico
Las Cascadas, Las Chicharras, Mexico—Recently, we introduced you to E-Cafe, our Direct Trade coffee farming coop in Chiapas, Mexico, and the source of our delicious Mexican Light Roast Coffee. In addition to incredible missions work, community development projects and microfinancing, E-Cafe also supports the education of underprivileged children throughout its region.
In 2005 they started Icthus World, a tuition-free boarding school for underprivileged children from families who work in coffee farming. In 2014 they expanded to open a grade school, as well. Over 90% of their students graduate and continue on to college. Comparatively, public schools in Mexico have a graduation rate of less than 45%.
In 2017 E-Cafe noticed another group of families who needed additional education support. Two of their farms, Finca Las Chicharras and Finca Las Cascadas employ seasonal farm workers who travel with their entire family from parts of Mexico and even Guatemala to work on the farms. Because they travel as a family, children often miss months of school during the coffee picking season. In order to serve these families, E-Cafe built a school on each of those farms so that students can continue their education in a safe environment while their parents are working. They even have childcare for the youngest children!
Your purchase of HOPE Coffee helps support these schools who serve the very families who help produce our Mexican Light Roast. Thank you for helping to make an enormous difference in the lives of these families!
HOPE Partner Tip: Keep your church or organization updated on the latest impact of their coffee by using these free downloads of Social Media Posts and Announcement Slides for your pre-service announcements or on a screen near your coffee bar! Click the image below to download the announcement slide in our online store.
