Tag: long miles coffee project

We Own The Land + Dukomezi Bikogwa

Dukomezi Bikogwa Means “Keep Working Hard” in Kirundi. Writing has been such hard work for me in the last few weeks, as anyone following this blog may have noticed. We have been consumed with the details of making the coffee washing station here in rural Burundi a reality. Mix that with motherhood,writing for the always lovely Babble, and launching (with our friends at Dogwood coffee) a Burundi roasted coffee that gives back to this washing station project… and you have one wordless momma. I’m sorry, because there is so much I want to say. Uff da, well… it’s not too late, right?

Yesterday (and today… because in Burundi of course it takes much longer than just one day) we purchased the land for the washing station. A little piece of Africa. Getting to this point has been a cultural lesson and a journey of total chaos. When we shared the vision for this community owned washing station with the leaders of the area, they’ve began having weekly meetings on every surrounding hill about delivering their coffee to our (not yet born) coffee washing station. They are the ones who paved the way within the community so that the land purchase could happen. The land we have purchased has a deep history. Before the war(s) the land WAS a washing station. Now it’s covered in eucalyptus trees for firewood and long flowing grass. I love the idea that we are returning this beautiful piece of land to what it once was. Since the war in 1992, the farmers in this area have been getting HALF of what they should be for their coffee, mostly because of the distance from them to the nearest station.

Hope, in my mind, is change for the better in this community WITHOUT giving short-lived free aid. This project is about long term, generational improvement for the coffee farmers of Burundi…. THAT is worth so much.

Please buy Burundi coffee from Dogwood to support this project. They are giving an amazing $4.00 a lb. back to the construction and operation of this washing station. You can buy online here, and yes, they ship countrywide if you in the USA.

February 27, 2013
Land for Burundi Coffee

Following @kristyjcarlson on Twitter and Instagram gets me excited about being part of this family of four that has their hearts set on helping a community in rural Burundi produce amazing coffee. I’m so happy to be a part of it.

Building a coffee washing station in Burundi has meant taking on an obscenely huge amount of challenges and obstacles on the way to realizing the dream. Let’s just say accomplishing something like this in Burundi has few more challenges in it than building that lemonade stand in Wisconsin when I was six.

For months now we have set our sites on building this coffee washing station. Finding the perfect location was key to making it a success. After 3 years of sourcing and cupping Burundi coffee, I knew where we needed to be. The place we were looking for was sitting in the middle of a triangle of the best coffee washing stations producing the best coffee in all of Burundi. Besides the best coffee, it was a place where farmers are too far to carry their coffee to the nearest station forcing them to sell to local buyers at ridiculously low prices. It has one river, bringing plenty of fresh clean water to run the de-pulper. Sitting at the perfect altitude with a micro-climate that is unique and ideal for producing the kind of coffee that makes you (ok, maybe just me) go weak in the knees.

Three years to make certain of this specific spot. Months to get all the paperwork done and meet all the farmers to explain the vision. Weeks to get all the signatures of the owners of the land willing to sell and the neighboring farmers as witnesses. Then, on the last day before signing, we find out that two of the five farmers don’t feel like selling anymore.

What do we do? Tomorrow we go back to the land to talk to the farmers. The area co-op president and commune elder have talked through our vision and are coming with us to make sure that the farmers know the kind of impact this station will have on the lives of all 2,500 families in the four surrounding hills. If they still decide they don’t want to sell are we back to square one? No, the commune elder said that we can have the two hectors next to the spot we want that are owned by the commune. The rivers the same, the slope is great, and the view is stunning. He gets the vision. He has caught hope. He tells us that they will do whatever it takes to see us partner with them.

We have found our spot and started to put down our roots. This challenge is just one of many in our way, but if it was easy we wouldn’t need to do it, it would already be done. Am I Worried? No, but we are weeks away from starting to build on land that we still don’t own with money we still have not raised… It will all happen though, it will all happen.

Coffee Guy

February 26, 2013
An Open Letter

Dear One in the sky and in my heart,

What is your plan?

I would really like to know.

The thing is, it’s hard work trusting you right now.

Why that is, I’m not sure.

Probably because I am a tiny speck and I never really understand what’s going on.

It’s not like you’ve EVER failed us.

Faith.

It’s a funny thing believing in what you don’t see,

and yet seeing it all around AT THE SAME TIME.

You know about our curve ball,

the one that has us LEANING IN for comfort.

It’s not a Major League curve ball, more like Little League…

but it changes some things.

I hate change and YET

when I look back, my FULLEST moments

have been TRUSTING YOU

through CHANGE.

The births of them, the births of dreams… all the births and firsts that come from saying “YES.”

Saying YES.

It’s so hard sometimes.

I’m going to cry the whole way through this YES, even though it feels so true.

So right.

So YOU.

For the record,

I stand here in AWE of what YOU’VE done for us.

Tiny people. Blessed people.

When I look back on life,

my only regret so far is not saying YES more OFTEN.

And BTW,

“Thank You” is just not ever going to be enough.

Love,

Me

p.s. Sorry for all the whining I do along the way.

November 15, 2012
Go Do.

I can see it faintly through the cracks.

An ache to be more like them.

It’s a longing for the carefree-fall-into-bed-exhausted-but-happy days of childhood,

but it’s also more.

My boys teach me by example that it’s better to just DO life instead of planning it to the hilt.

Life should be an expression of our God-given essence,

not a time to let big dreams sit dormant in our souls.

I don’t want to study and wait and worry.

There is wisdom in planning, to be sure

I often say I’m “planning” to avoid LAUNCHING.

It’s all because of fear.

Fear of failure.

So what?

If we fail… do we lose?

Who is in charge of judging it a failure anyway?

You? Me? That other guy?

Worst case, we learn and we grow.

Not bad odds.

I say, let’s GO DO IT.

November 1, 2012
Babbling about: 5 tips for taking great kid photos

I have had lots of questioning emails and phone calls this month asking me “What’s up with this Babble thing?” The truth is that I have been so busy being ill and taking care of sick kids and moving house and grieving over my grandma that I haven’t taken the opportunity to blog about my new gig with Babble! I am so excited to be a regular addition to their site. I even have my very own little blog space over there. It is filling up quickly with stories about my experiences raising kids in Africa, being a parent and my attempts at living out my best life. Please hop over and let me know you were there. I feel all lonely and new over there!

Today I am babbling about taking great kid photos AND YOU DON’T NEED A FANCY CAMERA to follow my tips! This is for pro photographers and point-and-shooters alike.

5 Tips For Taking Great Kid Photos

Alright tired and overworked parents, I’m here to convince you that photographing your kids is fun and simple as well as IMPORTANT. Let’s re-think the reason you take that camera out. It’s not for a quick Facebook or Instagram update (although I’m not poo-pooing that)… it’s for your family. Documenting moments in time is a key component of our humanity. If we don’t record these moments, no-one else will. Documenting what’s happening NOW means recording a unique and important part of your child’s journey on this earth. It’s important for them, for their kids, for their grandkids and for generations beyond that. You see? This is a great big wonderful task. Here’s how to get clicking!

Trick-or-Treating? Not My Kids.

My kids have never ever in their lives participated in the American tradition of trick-or-treating. As expats living in Africa, October is just not a real hot month to make a return to the USA. We have thought about recreating a mini-Halloween for them in Africa, but really… I’m not that awesome. When I asked my 6 year old at the breakfast table today what he thought Halloween was he said, “Oh, I saw that in a movie. That’s when all the kids dress up and then they get candy.” I responded with, “Yeah, that’s right. Did you know that’s not a made up story? Some kids actually get to do that in real life.” To which he responded, “What? They do? Can I meet them?”

Did I just say ménage à trois? I did, didn’t I.

A little over a year ago we moved into the heart of Africa to begin living out a coffee-covered dream. Its been an adventure, and along the way we’ve been working to help the coffee farmers of Burundi get a fairer price for their coffee beans. Our boys were 4 and 1.5 when we made the big move to Burundi. We got off to a pretty rocky start learning how to live here. So rocky, in fact, that actual rocks were thrown through windows by my 4 year old. That same kid belted “I hate you” down the hall on a daily basis. Meltdowns were a daily occurrence, usually I was the first to collapse in a heap of tears on the bathroom floor wondering, “What are we doing HERE?”

October 19, 2012
Homemade Gingerbread Spice Syrup
I was in the States when Starbucks started selling their Pumpkin Spice Latte for the season. After tasting one, I was determined to start experimenting with flavored simple syrups. I had heard that they were easy to make, but hadn’t ever really taken the simple syrup plunge. Now that I have, I plan on always having this gingerbread spice simple syrup on hand. I put it in my morning coffee or cappuccino, pour it over ice cream, and tomorrow morning I’m going to try swirling it into my oatmeal.

Gingerbread Spice Simple Syrup

Here’s what you will need:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1-2 T. of sliced fresh ginger (to your liking)
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
To Make:
1. Place all of your ingredients together in a medium sauce pan
2. Mix and heat slowly to melt the sugar
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes
4. Remove from heat, strain into a storage container, and cool
5. Store covered in the refrigerator
My hubs has been making me a homemade Gingerbread Latte almost every morning lately. Here’s how he does it:

He adds 1-2 teaspoons of the simple syrup to the cup before brewing the espresso, brews the espresso over the top of the syrup, and then combines with milk as usual. If you wanted to top it with fancy things like whipped cream and cinnamon, more power to you! I like mine just like the hubs makes it.
September 26, 2012
The Weekend Car Wash | Things to do in Burundi

In Burundi their isn’t a huge variety of weekend activities to choose from. We usually aren’t daunted by this, but it does lead to the induction of some interesting weekend pass-times. The latest craze in the Carlson house? Our very own Saturday morning car wash. By the time my boys are finished “washing the car” they are drenched from head to toe and, usually, so are we. We all have a whole lot of fun though. Our two year old walks around saying “Wash car, mommy?” all week long until we say, “Yes, Neo… it’s ‘car wash’ day” then he bolts for the driveway with a sponge in hand. Speaking of Neo, excuse the naked two year old here, if that sort of thing bothers you. I tried to limit any full frontals to a minimum!

Canon EOS3, Portra 400

September 18, 2012
Burundi Cup of Excellence Predictions. How did I do?

Well, the Burundi Cup of Excellence has come and gone and now the burning question on everyone’s mind is “how did Ben’s predictions turn out?” That and maybe “who were the top 10?” Those two questions will be answered in the video! Enjoy.

Coffee Guy

Burundi Cup of Excellence. Was I right? from Ben Carlson on Vimeo.

September 7, 2012
Living next door to you.

…

I just want to say,

that I see you…

even though I am cushioned

by things you lack.

My self aches.

It’s an unmovable ache.

It’s the ache of living next door

to YOU.

The ache of MY “haves” and YOUR “have nots.”

…

I want so badly to escape your story..

The truth is, it makes me UNCOMFORTABLE.

Poor uncomfortable me, while you, on the other hand…

actually struggle to survive.

…

I hate that you are right.

I DO “have everything” I need.

Poverty is like a hole

and it sucks anyone around

into it’s blackness.

…

There is hope, to be sure…

but sometimes I just can’t see it through the ache.

The ache of deformed-legs-man “walking” on hands.

The ache of swollen bellies on young littles.

The ache of baby dead in mother’s arms.

The ache of knowing that the pen you so badly want

WON’T fill your belly

or keep you safe tonight.

…

I see you,

even though sometimes I just want

to pretend you don’t exsist.

To look right past you banging on my window.

Seeing your pain saps me. Again, “poor me.”

I always SEE YOU…

and I wish I saw a different picture.

I wish I was seeing

a healthy-happy-roof-over-head-belly-full-of-food YOU.

August 9, 2012

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