Tall Nonfat Latte with Development on Top: Your Morning Caffeine Fix Can Help Landmine Survivors

Coffee is not normally thought of as a military target. During the war between the Sandinistas and Contras in Nicaragua however, coffee exports were one of the only sources of revenue for the Sandanista government. To choke off this source of funds the rebel Contras mined coffee plantations throughout the country. The fighting was ended by elections in 1990, but the mines remained. Years later the landmines continued to kill and maim civilians and hinder economic development by keeping formerly profitable coffee lands inaccessible.

There is a happy ending to Nicaragua’s story; it is considered almost mine impact free today. This is not the case in many other countries around the world, including many coffee exporters. According to the POLUS Center for Economic Development, six of the top ten coffee producers in world are affected by landmines. In Colombia, Laos, Ethiopia and elsewhere mines inflict both a human and economic toll on communities who depend on coffee production for their livelihood and development prospects. American consumers spend almost $19 billion a year on coffee. Some companies like Dean’s Beans, a coffee import company based in Massachusetts, were looking for a way to give some of that back to their mine impacted suppliers. Now, they can.

A grant from U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) to the POLUS Center has created the Coffeelands Landmine Victim’s Trust: a fund for mine survivor assistance in coffee producing nations. The fund provides the vehicle that American buyers and roasters like Dean’s Beans (the first company to contribute) were looking for. Now many others, including giants such as Starbucks, are considering signing up as well. This is just one example of the public-private partnerships pursued by PM/WRA to combine the resources of the government, private companies, and NGOs to benefit mine action.