While the blog has been quiet the goings on for Nexus has not. It's been about as exciting of a 60 day span as one can remember since the journey began.
While there is nothing on a space as of yet we are continuing to keep our eyes and ears out for anything that may pop up.
Fundraising also continues- we are getting closer by the day to our estimated amount needed for launch- so continued support in all forms is also appreciated in this area.
But really the exciting part is what is going on with our beans! As we've shared- it has always been our vision to import our beans from works going on overseas that are similar to ours in that they are utilizing the business of growing and selling beans as a catalyst to be part of positive change within a certain people group. We greatly value indigenous work that is entrepreneurial, self sustaining, and naturally reproduces itself. When those type of ingredients are paired with leaders that have a heart for God and a heart to see people become everything they can be great things can happen. We happened to meet one such man.
Just a few weeks ago Andy joined Gateway church to share with our church, business leaders, pastors, and medical professionals the work he is doing in Sumatra. That's right Sumatra- where some of the best coffee in the world derives from!
What I liked about Andy is, like me, he is not as much as a "religious leader" as much as he is a normal dude that wanted to use his talents and passions to impact the world. You see Andy has an agriculture degree and now lives in Sumatra and teaches the people in his region farming techniques to yield better product and higher volumes, with greater efficiency. So he and his family along with a few other couples run a farm and travel around their region training these things and providing other valuable services. By giving this knowledge to these people he allows them a better chance of a decent life- to have shoes on their kids feet, an education, maybe even a bike to ride. Simply put Andy is able to use farming to import hope into families- by sharing the farming knowledge and investing into them and sharing the awesomeness of our God that is evident in Jesus Christ.
While there is still a hefty amount of logistical work to be done here is the direction we seem to be heading:
Within the next few months we are going to bring in a sample order of beans from Andy's region of Sumatra to ensure they are the best possible quality. We are excited about this because this part of Sumatra exports only a very small (if any) amount of Arabica bean since that region fancies mainly Robusta. This allows us to be on the forefront of offering coffee from this region taking advantage of the subtle differences that set these beans apart. Once that is finalized we will bring in our first full shipment as early as this year.
This fall Gateway and Nexus will be making a trip our to Sumatra and work with Andy as we form relationships with farmers. As we identify these farmers we will be honing in on those people groups that have the greatest need for our type of partnership- aka the worst off. We want to go where we can make the biggest difference- where it is not easy, but it's worth it.
The beauty of this is: The coffee you drink directly supports these farmers. This isn't just fair trade- this is a face with your joe. Every time we sip a cup of coffee we can do so knowing it allowed a kid we know, and have their picture in our cafe, to go to school, or even have breakfast. More than that- it means you can drink your coffee today in Cleveland and then join us in a trip to Sumatra and help better these farmers, their friends, family, and countrymen in a variety of other ways tomorrow. And since we cannot be there all the time- we have our partner Andy who is. We have the joy of providing them an opportunity at a better life and get to help them be difference makers doing the same for others in their area.
So the with this partnership, and hopefully many more to follow, the cycle of life giving entrepreneurship continues. As we run a business to impact our region there is a symbiotic relationship in Sumatra that is doing the same. To me it really is a beautiful thing and I am ecstatic that we did not open our doors without it in place!
I leave you with this: Maybe, just maybe we will be selling our coffee before our doors even open. You just might be able to start supporting Nexus and our partners in Sumatra this year. Nexus beans just might be available for home use- are you ready!!?!
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