The Trip, My Entry

By Kaden Sweeny

My name’s Kaden, and just 7 days ago coffee was no different to me than everything else around me, an item and/or an object or commodity. I consume, use, and then dispose of and continue my day without any thought or consequence.

And whilst this was quite a blissful way to live, sometimes the hard questions and the harsh realities we turn a blind eye to need to be unveiled. Not just for yourself but to better the world and to stop supporting and helping fund/flourish corrupt systems, which inconsequentially to yourself keeps farmers in a constant downward spiral of debt that forces farmers WE RELY ON to cut corners by using unsavory techniques and methods to stay afloat.

It’s funny I just said all of that, and to me that has A LOT of meaning. But to the average reader, that doesn’t mean anything. Because consumables and goods are made and branded to leave you in a shroud of mystery and rely on the consumer’s arrogance to help keep that mystery, but funny enough, it works!

From Left to Right: Paula Stephens, Maddie Walston, Kaden Sweeney and Erika Davis

But ignorance can only get you so far & and most importantly, the world so far. Which is what OBIIS from my eyes is trying to get across. I had the pleasure of going and spending roughly a week on one of the coffee farms, El Recreo, to be exact, which, funny enough, the name in English is roughly a translation of “recess,” which almost foreshadowed the trip and week that was ahead of me.

I have to paraphrase a lot of my trip, or I could go on and on. But with that being said, it was nothing short of beautiful, but beautiful in ways and concepts that are a bit hard to describe without being there. But I can do my best to paint the picture for you. For example, the landscape and farm itself,and better yet, the country is almost a forest jungle, so each and every angle could be framed and put up in an art museum, and no one would bat an eye. But the layers and beauty run deeper than that, more on a connection and personal level.

When we arrived I was a bit taken aback; I don’t tend to go into situations with any preconceived visions or expectations. But I was instantly blown away! Upon entering the beautiful land and farm, you’re instantly greeted by smiling kids, adults, and everything in between. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me these were some of the happiest and most grateful people on the planet. Why do I think that? Well, you get this sense of community and hopefulness for the future worn proudly on their smiles and on their faces; no language barrier or cultural barrier could convolute or hide the feeling I could feel through the people on the farm. It was truly a surreal feeling.

In Palo’s home on the Farm.

OBIIS provides fair pricing and support for these farmers and farms that previously they didn’t have, which subsequently drove their farms and people into doubt and debt. You could feel the burdens slowly dissolving off these people, which is the most beautiful feeling you could ever feel and/or witness in real time.

I was, and I still am, more than grateful to witness and feel the change happening on these farms. My outlook on life and everything that falls in between is still shaping minute by minute based on the things I’ve seen in this past week. There’s no doubt in my mind that the impact OBIIS is having on these farms is immeasurable, and funny enough, it’s just by paying a fair price for the coffee. Who would have known it’s that easy!

I’m excited to see how this keeps shaping and changing my future and outlook on, quite frankly, everything. Even typing this on the plane back home to Michigan, I’m still processing a lot.

I hope and wish everyone could experience the same thing, and even if you can’t, just informing yourself could change an immeasurable amount of people’s lives. I want the last and final thing you take away from this to be that farmers all around the globe that impact your life on a daily basis are being unfairly compensated. But with the efforts of OBIIS, I’ve seen firsthand that these farms and farmers are starting to see a brighter future than just a few years before, when working with OBIIS was quite grim. If you get time, do some research, find where your products are coming from, and ask yourself, “Am I happy and content with the systems in place, or do I want to help make a change and make sure these farms can function ethically?”