Those who have followed our ministry for any length of time know that we love Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company of Roswell, GA.  We recently had a chance both to help serve coffee and share the great story of Redemption through Coffee at the Catalyst West Coast conference in Irvine, CA as well as at a stop on the Third Day Revelation Tour in Fresno, CA.  

The highlight of our involvement with Land of a Thousand Hills in the last year, however, happened in late February when the first Sustainable Cycle Coffee Bikes were delivered to the eagerly awaiting Bukonya Coffee Growers in Rwanda!  These grower families were able to purchase their new custom-designed cargo bikes as the result of two-year microfinance loans provided both from LOTH coffee sales and direct donors to the project.    – A handful of these loans were directly funded by Share5 donors!  -  The great thing about these loans (and microfinance in general) is that in 2 years, we can use the same money to fund another loan to another grower!  Your gifts keep on giving!

Before custom-designed cargo bikes were made accessible to coffee farmers, Rwandans either walked 4 or 5 miles to collection points or used dangerous homemade wooden bikes (see photo) to deliver their cherries. Not only were the wooden bikes unsafe, they were not efficient and often completely unsuitable for carrying the heavy bags of cherries.

In 2005 Tom Ritchey, a pioneer in the world of mountain biking and owner of Ritchey Design, created a cargo bike that enables coffee farmers to travel safer, faster, and deliver a higher quality bean as a result.  This higher quality means a premium price for the growers, resulting in an increase in both income and quality of life.

By your support of Share5 and our microfinance projects like the sustainable cycle loans, you are making these amazing moments possible.  I remember sitting with tears in my eyes as I first saw the photo above of these first 8 bikes in the hands of the families who will put them to use during the 2009 harvest season.  Enjoy the fruits of their labors, and yours, with a cup of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee today, and thank you to those who have participated in this amazing ministry.

Be a part of changing lives around the world! 
Fund a Sustainable Cycle Loan through Share5 ($250) (Remember, it gets REUSED once REPAID!)

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Contribute $5 or more monthly to the Share5 Network Fund