Haiti

I'm sure you've all been following the disaster in Haiti. It's terrible, and every time I hear about it, I wish I could do something to help.

A long time ago, before I opened the DoubleShot, I was in really good physical condition. I could run, ride, paddle, or whatever all day long. And all night. And all day again. I could literally go and go and go without wearing out. I realized at some point that I had an unusual ability, probably partly natural and partly because I worked at it so hard. But once I understood that I could do things other normal people couldn't do, I started to feel that I should use the ability for good. And I racked my brain trying to figure out how I could get a few more people like myself together and find an organization that would allow us to go at a moment's notice to places like Haiti, to deliver supplies and help people and to go where vehicles and other people couldn't get to very easily. I really could've been a force back then, had I known how to use it. As the years have worn on, I'm now just an average person. I've worked so much in this business that I've let my physical abilities falter. That bothers me, and I wish I were still in shape enough to help in Haiti. And I wish I had the time, resources, and know-how to get there and help. But I don't. So I sit here behind my computer trying to think of another way to help. Donating money? Ugh. I know they need stuff, but blindly giving money makes me queasy.

If you have a source to give money to help Haitians, do let us know.

So I've been thinking about Haiti's history. They were a French colony a long time ago and were producing half of the worlds coffee at the time. Which is an amazing because it's a small... half of an island. The other half is the Dominican Republic.

The coffee and sugar industry in Haiti was run by plantation owners and worked by slaves. In 1791 the slaves began the only successful slave rebellion in known world history. As a result, their economy was wrecked and has never recovered. The plantation owners were killed and coffee crops were destroyed or neglected. Their coffee production plummeted by 45 percent.

In recent years, a French organization called FACN with the help of USAID have developed a blend called Haitian Bleu, which is supposed to compete in the specialty market. Unfortunately I've never really heard of it and don't know anything about the coffee. So I'm thinking their efforts might not be that effective.

I started thinking. After this horrible disaster, there is going to have to be rebuilding. In my opinion, rebuilding the same thing they had before the earthquake is not going to make their lives better. I'm wondering if there could be an opportunity for the Specialty coffee industry to step in and try to guide and help them retool their coffee industry. Maybe Tim Schilling, who directed the programs in Rwanda that have bee incredibly successful, could lend his expertise to Haiti's coffee growers. Maybe changing just a few things and educating Haitians about the state of Specialty coffee today could have a huge impact on their economy.

Is it possible that Haiti could become a big player in the coffee industry again?

I don't know.

What are your thoughts? How can we help?