This has been achieved through adopting Voluntary sustainability standards that guide and promote sustainable supply chain management. Under this, we have taken key sustainability aspects as follows
This has been achieved through the establishment of strategic partnerships and networks with Producer organizations and Cooperatives as a medium through which farmer needs are communicated which promotes transparent reporting and dissemination of information in each element of the supply Chain.
We have ensured that the coffee producers adopt sustainable farming practices such as water conservation and management, irrigation, Agroforestry whereby farmers plant shade trees to regulate temperatures, trap carbon and nourish the soil, Soil conservation through facilitating soil testing and appropriate fertilizer application, encouraging the use of an integrated pest Management system for effective pest management and finally practising organic farming.
As the saying goes “There’s no sustainability without traceability”, we strive to offer exceptional high-quality and geo-traceable coffee from the various Producers that we sustainably source coffee from.
We keep digital records of every lot/batch, from the farm to export, ensuring full traceability for all our products from origin.
Access to finance is a desirable if not a crucial aspect of sustainability. At Ekam, we ensure financial inclusion at the producer level by strengthening the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) to encourage a savings culture and ease access to finances when the need arises. This enables farmers not to harvest immature coffee to get quick money hence advancing in the value chain with higher returns.
Key to note is the majority of the farmers are no longer receiving payment for the coffee as cash at hand but through their respective Sacco accounts.