Our lives depend on access to fresh, clean water but it can easily be taken for granted. Those of us who have never experienced the hardship of walking for miles to access freshwater, only to have to carry it home again, can only imagine the incredible, life-changing experience that centralised plumbing can bring to a community. 

Why are we talking about clean water?

As coffee roasters, clean water plays an important part in the end result of our product. Water quality highly influences the taste of coffee and adhering to water quality standards will influence everything from extraction rate, taste, and coffee equipment longevity. 

Chemex drip

Why is clean water so important to us?

Not only does clean water influence our cup of coffee, but it also influences our lives, our environment, and the communities at Origin where farmers and coffee producers do not have access to the same infrastructure for clean water access. 

Our experience

In 2015, on a Fairtrade trip to origin, we were fortunate to be able to visit HOAC (Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative) in Papua New Guinea. Using the Fairtrade Premium, cooperatives invest in advancements for their communities: whether medical, mechanic or otherwise. Recently, HOAC used their Fairtrade Premium to invest in the piping of fresh, clean water into their community. The access to clean water had been challenging due to water easily being contaminated further upstream from the village. With the premium, HOAC members have been able to run a pipeline directly from the source high in the hills above the cooperative straight into the village. When we visited three years ago, a single tap served to supply 3 houses, with the plan to eventually be able to direct clean water into each household. 

PNG Coffee OnlinePNG Coffee Blackall Blend 

Support ingenuity and thriving village life in Purosa. Coffee from the HOAC cooperative is featured in our Blackall Range Blend and as a stand-alone single-origin filter coffee (listed below) sources from the PNG highlands. You’ll love everything about it. 

Pour over

What can we do?

Neglecting our environment and pushing our ecosystems to their limits will make it harder to provide clean, fresh water to our growing global population. Soil and vegetation degradation created by unsustainable farming practices contribute to water pollution. This year's World Water Day focuses on “Nature for Water” and the ways we can use natural solutions to revert the water challenges we are facing today. Purchasing goods from companies that use organic and sustainable methods when farming, will raise the demand for sustainable farming methods that protect our natural environment and increase universal access to freshwater. 

Support the Cooperatives in Papua New Guinea by purchasing Papua New Guinea Purosa Premium Fairtrade Coffee

 

HOAC Water pipe

 

*Further Reading: If you’re interested further in how to take action this year, head to World Water Day and stay connected with the Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 6 is looking to achieve universal access to clean water and the sustainable management of water by 2030! 
 

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March 22, 2018 — Eva Smith