Roasting company Land of a Thousand Hills’ 2022 Grateful Together campaign plans to raise $10,000 to purchase a cow for 20 farmer families in Rwanda.
BY CHRIS RYAN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee
As we’ve moved into the holiday months, many coffee businesses have launched charitable campaigns to spread cheer and improve the lives of those around them.
One such company getting into the spirit is Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. The Atlanta-based roaster specializes in Rwandan coffees, providing coffee-farming communities in the Central African nation with living wages, education, health care, and clean water while buying their specialty coffee.
The Ongoing Mission
Each year, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee launches a Grateful Together campaign. This year’s effort, titled “A Farm for Families,” aims to raise $10,000 by January 31 to buy 20 dairy cows. These will be given to 20 of the families the company partners with in Rwanda’s Kivu Lake and Ruli Mountain regions.
Land of a Thousand Hills has worked with farmers in Kivu Lake and Ruli Mountain since 2007. In addition to sourcing coffee, paying fair wages, and organizing development projects in the region, the roasting company wanted to benefit them further with this project, says Maddy Smith, Land of a Thousand Hills’ content writer.
Gift With a Purpose
“By providing dairy cows to these families, we’ll help supply immediate food and financial security, as well as set the foundation for long-term benefits—the cows will continue to provide milk and income for the families, plus can be bred to create an even stronger food and financial safety net,” says Maddy.
One cow can offer a great deal of benefit to farming families, providing milk for consumption as well as additional milk that can be sold for extra income. Additionally, the cow’s manure can be used as fertilizer for farmers’ coffee crops and gardens. Families can also breed the cows, sharing them with neighbors and others to support the broader community.
In a press release from Land of a Thousand Hills, Jonathan D. Golden, the company’s founder, explains further: “In Rwanda, cows are not only an economic asset, but a symbol of prosperity and togetherness,” he says. “… By giving dairy cows to these families, we’re helping provide immediate food and financial security, as well as setting the foundation for long-term benefits.”
Grateful Together
Land of a Thousand Hills launched the Grateful Together campaign in 2021, Maddy explains. “After a couple of challenging years globally … Jonathan D. Golden wanted to reflect on how grateful we were for our communities—in Rwanda, the U.S., and around the world—while also joining together to do good,” she says. The 2021 campaign raised more than $10,000 to support maternity care at the Leonard B. Golden Medical Center, which serves communities near Land of a Thousand Hills’ Ruli Mountain and Kivu Lake washing stations.
Those interested in contributing to the 2022 Grateful Together “A Farm for Families” campaign can donate directly here.
