Hacker News Reader

Comment by madman2890 | Hacker News Reader

I bought a coffee farm in Colombia. Annualized it makes around $800 / month and growing. Should double to $1600 / month next year as we’ve doubled our production. It’s barely profitable, but is profitable nonetheless. The more we plant the more profitable it will get, and we’ll be planting 10,000 more trees soon!

View on HN

I am dying to hear more about this. Please, if you have time and are inclined, write up a longer comment like some of the others in this thread describing how you got into it and what the process has involved. For starters, how much did it cost to buy the farm?

I can not find it now, but I recall reading a post from the (former?) founder/owner of a coffee company. His goal was to have an ethically justifiable supply chain, free from slavery and human exploitation. Or at least less of it. His conclusion was that this is impossible and became very disillusioned that due to various reasons he would not be able to not be part of the problem.

I found this when searching but I’m pretty sure I’m thinking of someone else. https://www.javarepublic.com/no-ethics-coffee/

Apologies for the vagueness, but do you have any thoughts on that?

In my experience living in a poor country, most of the issues brought up against globalized supply chains are either made up or sensationalized by people in developed countries who lack perspective.

Low wages? Actually they are a really good entry-level option for people doing rural-urban migration. Expensive middlemen? They serve a purpose in the marketplace and smooth out logistical inefficiencies. Greedy multinationals? These are often dream work destinations for the locals.

I could go on and on... bottom line is, globalized supply chains aren't broken and don't need fixing

> In my experience living in a poor country, most of the issues brought up against globalized supply chains are either made up or sensationalized by people in developed countries who lack perspective.

Agreed. It's also being heavily used to put a thin humanitarian sheen on what actually boils down to racism/xenophobia - not in all cases of course, but to a significant extent.

> I could go on and on... bottom line is, globalized supply chains aren't broken and don't need fixing

I wouldn't go that far, I'd say instead that they're not particularly more broken/unethical than pretty much anything else in the business world, but are easier for media to point fingers at and sensationalize without getting into much trouble from businesses.

Thanks for your perspective . Just to be clear, are you talking in the general or are you in an environment with coffee plantations?

Because the things I’m talking about were presented as issues specific to coffee.

I live in Kenya, so yes. And my girlfriend was a coffee picker before she moved to the city

Like all of the other commenters, really interested to hear your story. For example:

* How did you go about finding the farm and acquiring it?

* How did you ensure you were paying a fair price?

* What about the legal side of things?

* Are you doing this remotely, or from within Colombia?

As a coffee drinker (and as someone who has visited the golden triangle) this is the most fun answer here!

I would also be fascinated to hear more about this! Would you be open to sharing contact information or any public writing on the project?

This would be a great Tell HN.

To whom do you sell your coffee? What’s that part of your business like? Do you roast too?

Would love to hear more about how you got started. Any blog posts documenting this?

Just to repeat what others have said I would love to hear more about this

Is that $800/month profit or revenue? I'd expect it to be profit, but I don't think farms and food make that much in the first place.

Either way, congrats! It sounds like a lovely side business.

Would love to hear more about the entire story, from getting the idea, to searching for a farm to purchase, and taking over the day to day business, managing staff, etc.

Please consider writing a bit more about this experience!

I would also love to know more about the process.

How much did you pay for it and are there any corruption issues? How big is it and do you sell wholesale or own brand or both?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com