TALKS PROGRAMME: JAVIER ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ ABRIL (CARIBBEAN GOODS)

My name is Javier Gutierrez Abril, I was born and raised in Guatemala and I am the founder of Caribbean Goods. Growing up, I saw how people in my country suffered poverty, extreme violence, and a lack of opportunities due to poor education. I volunteered for several movements (Techo para mi pais, Soñar Despierto, Casa Bernabe, etc) to try to alleviate the pressure millions of people had in the country. In 2017 I came to do an MSc in Finance at Strathclyde University. After my Master Degree, I realised that countries in the Caribbean region grow high-quality agricultural goods that UK businesses need. Sadly, some people take advantage of the region's small producers and have done it for far too long. That is how Caribbean Goods was born. Caribbean Goods connects farmers of fine agricultural goods from the Caribbean region with UK businesses. I founded the business with the dream of making farming in the area fair for hard-working farmers. The first agricultural good we traded was specialty green coffee from Guatemala (I went to school with some farmers from whom we buy our coffee) I am an activist for a better world. Education is the key to a successful future and understanding the importance of a sustainable world. I focus my time and effort on contributing to a greener planet and promoting education for everyone, everywhere.

Talk Title: From plant to cup - Complexities and opportunities in the supply chain

Farming, Wet Mill, Dry Mill, Export, and Import. Speciality coffee is great, but do you know it must go through five stages before it gets here? How does a farmer gets paid? How does your importer buy your green coffee? Can you buy coffee in a different part of the supply chain? Javier has imported four containers of coffee (and two more are on their way) throughout these four years. He has bought coffee from four out of the five stages. Fortunately and unfortunately, all of them have resulted in good and bad experiences simultaneously.

Caribbean Goods is a boutique independent green coffee importer based in Glasgow, Scotland. Let's make sourcing coffee as transparent as possible, and let's get talking about what happens before the coffee reaches the UK.

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