Our Inspiration
In January of 2008, Kate Schneider landed in La Violeta, Costa Rica to teach English for a year in the town’s primary school. An instant celebrity after most of the town watched (unbeknownst to her) as she attempted to walk the 2 kilometers into the town from the main road with her sixty-pound backpack, Kate was addressed simply as “Teacher” and her real name is still unknown to many to this day.
After finally reaching her house that day, Kate was offered her first (of many) cups of freshly brewed, and badly needed, Café La Violeta and was an instant addict. So when her students offered to take her up into the fields after the third day of school, she of course accepted the invitation. Far behind shouts of “come on, Teacher, it’s easy!” Kate got her first glimpse of the spectacular care that it takes to produce world-class coffee.
The history of coffee in La Violeta is a story of a slow emergence out of dire poverty over the last two generations. Older members of the community tell of the small plots of land families tended and the many times when there was not enough to eat. One common story from the older members of the town is of a single bananas, hard-boiled egg, or avocado shared between many people when there was nothing else to eat. A turning point for the community took place when the prominent Figueres family who owned most of the San Marcos - Tarrazu region sold off much of their land. The members of La Violeta were able to purchase their own land for the first time and over the next two generations, the community emerged slowly from extreme poverty into the relative prosperity they now enjoy. Thankfully, none of Kate’s students from 2008 know what it feels like to go hungry.
The generation of children currently growing up in La Violeta will work in the production of coffee in much smaller percentages than their parents and ancestors. Unfortunately, the quality of education that they receive at a rural public school is not sufficiently preparing these kids for success in other occupations. Without textbooks, basic supplies, or adequate curriculum materials the students have no chance of keeping up with their peers in urban areas. The educational system needs more resources in order to provide opportunities beyond small-scale farming for the next generation of children.
In June of 2008, the school received an amazing donation of ten computers from the University of Costa Rica. Without adequate space to set them up, this incredible resource stands idle. A safe space for the computers will enable access to a full range of technologies, including internet, for the entire community. The barrier to access these resources is so frustratingly small, yet unattainable. The building of new classroom space has stalled for lack of funds leaving the children to attend school inside an open construction zone.
Kate refused to accept that something as small as a few thousand dollars to pay for building materials could prevent students from learning to use computers and having access to the Internet and a twenty-first century education. She imagined using the town’s most valuable resource – its amazing coffee – to fundraise the money to finish constructing the school. Buena Beans grew out of this initial idea as a way to support local public schools that are successfully rising out of poverty through sustainable coffee cultivation but whose access to educational opportunities is barred by their rural location.
Buena Beans is committed to the sustainable development of Costa Rica and to environmental sustainability and conducts business in a manner that supports both of these goals.
For more information on Kate, read her biography