St Remio team visits Rwanda
The team at St Remio were delighted to head to Rwanda earlier this year to visit the coffee plantations with partner Sustainable Harvest.
After the genocide in 1994 which killed almost a million men, the women of Rwanda were left to work the fields in order to provide for their families.
Working with the growers and going back to the source is what we are all about so it was important to not only see the fields but meet the hard-working women behind the plantations.
As part of our partnership with Sustainable Harvest, a percentage of our sales goes back to the Premium Sharing Rewards program which allows the workers to collect points to purchase items that will assist them in both work and life. The program is supported by Michael Bloomberg and is one of the only proven charitable initiatives having a great impact on the lives of the workers. With a focus on both education and empowering women, Sustainable Harvest has been able to help the ladies achieve a greater yield, teach them how to manage and run a business, implement successful and proven farming techniques in order to achieve a better crops for long-term success, and have a positive impact on their personal lives.
Only 10% of households have electricity in Rwanda, so majority of the ladies walk home in the dark after work and their children are not able to study when the sun goes down. As part of the rewards program, the ladies have collected solar powered sun flower lights allowing them to safely walk home and have light in their homes for their children to study after sunset.
Each time you purchase St Remio, you are directly having an impact on these women’s lives. Thank you for supporting St Remio and Sustainable Harvest and thank you for supporting the women of Rwanda.