The Sustainable Restaurant Association's 'Support Global Farmers' campaign is calling on the whole foodservice and hospitality sector, to serve only Good coffee – that’s coffee that’s good for the people growing it, good for the environment and, of course, good for business. And that's the coffee we serve.
While we are proud to say that the majority of our produce is local to the South West, when it comes to coffee we have to look further afield! And while our coffee suppliers at Wogan Coffee roast their beans right here in Bristol, the coffee of course comes from climes the other side of the world.
Wogan Coffee have long worked with La Bastilla farm in Nicaragua. The farm covers 311 hectares, of which 160 hectares are currently dedicated to the production of coffee, with the potential of 190 hectares being used in this way. La Bastilla Farm has been certified by the Rainforest Alliance since 2003 and has a continuous programme of improvement.
Wogan is committed to sourcing coffee ethically and its relationship with the owner of this estate and are proud to sponsor the education of three children on the estate and have been able to partner them up with three students from city of Bristol college. The team at Wogan even got a chance to meet them when visiting the estate this winter.
"We travelled to Nicaragua, Central America this winter to visit the Estate. We have a long standing relationship with the owner of the estate and this gave us the opportunity to not only see where our coffee comes from and meet the workers who produce these wonderful beans but also to meet the three students we sponsor through the ‘teach a man to fish’ education charity.
A very humbling part of the visit was meeting the students whose education we sponsor from the age of 13 to 18, when they are awarded their baccalaureate. Each of the students must apply for and attend an interview, pass an entrance exam and show the correct attitude towards their education before being accepted by the school The funding we provide helps to pay for teaching staff, accommodation and food for both the students and staff as well as resources for the school.
We saw their classrooms which were kitted out with microscopes, chemical testing kits and foods charts in order to learn about healthy living. It really was very humbling to meet these incredibly happy and grateful students. You can view their progress reports on our La Bastilla students page"