do good initiative projects

Cultivating Flourishing Communities

Our Collaborative Trade™ model takes direct and fair trade one step further. Coffee is an opportunity to do good, and doing good means we get to support whole communities to make positive change.

Since 2007, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee has worked with farmers in Rwanda as co-laborers creating a better future through coffee. We build flourishing communities through holistic solutions, seeking to meet social, economic, and spiritual needs in the most sustainable way possible with each Do Good Initiative Project developed and run by local leadership.

Thanks to a foundation of sustainable income and job security through farming coffee, these communities have been able to look beyond their individual needs and work toward strengthening communities’ standings in ways that have immediate, ongoing, and tangible impacts.

How we do good

Our vibrant coffee-growing communities in Ruli and Kivu are located in secluded areas, away from Rwanda’s healthcare programs. Along with paying higher than fair trade wages for the farmers’ specialty coffee, we’re committed to working together to provide farmers and their families with clean water, healthcare, and education.

Food Relief for farmers project

The global pandemic is continuing to cause wide-ranging and long-lasting negative effects for the farmers we partner with in Rwanda and their families.

The Nziza Collective

Made up of women who are the single providers for their families, The Nziza Collective is a promising example of the power of community. Each season, their outstanding coffee is set aside from the rest of the Kivu Lake harvest as a featured microlot.

However, poverty still perpetuates cycles of need and the women have limited income after the season’s harvest. Together with the Nziza Collective, we’re figuring out ways to strengthen the community and build sustainable year-round employment, including producing hand-woven baskets and textiles.

By purchasing Nziza Collective coffee beans or Peace Baskets, you contribute to a single mother and her family’s opportunity, stability, and power.

The Nziza Collective

Made up of women who are the single providers for their families, The Nziza Collective is a promising example of the power of community. Each season, their outstanding coffee is set aside from the rest of the Kivu Lake harvest as a featured microlot.

However, poverty still perpetuates cycles of need and the women have limited income after the season’s harvest. Together with the Nziza Collective, we’re figuring out ways to strengthen the community and build sustainable year-round employment, including producing hand-woven baskets and textiles.

By purchasing Nziza Collective coffee beans or Peace Baskets, you contribute to a single mother and her family’s opportunity, stability, and power.

HOW YOU CAN DO GOOD & MAKE A DIFFERENCE

By choosing Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, you’re already directly supporting thousands of coffee farmers and their families.
But, of course, there’s always more to do.

start a coffee subscription

One bag of coffee = one day’s wages for one farmer.

Just think about what your ongoing subscription can do.


make a donation

While proceeds from coffee sales are reinvested back into our communities in different ways, 100% of monetary donations go directly to the Do Good Initiative projects.

HOW WE'VE DONE GOOD

Grateful Together 2023:
farmer's insurance initiative

In 2023 we met our ambitious goal—to extend health insurance to 5,000 farmers and their families that we collaborate with in Rwanda where the picturesque landscapes of Kivu Lake and Ruli Mountain serve as the backdrop to their dedication and purposeful work.

DO GOOD HEALTH

Approved by the Rwandan Ministry of Health, we built a Community Health Clinic. The public clinic provides much-needed healthcare access to more than 10,000+ farmers and everyone in the community.

Grateful Together 2024:
Flourishing futures

This year, through our Flourishing Futures Initiative, we are raising $20,000 to build a Training and Distribution Center in Rwanda. This give coffee farmers the education and tools for sustainable farming year-round.

Grateful Together 2022:
A farm for families

In Rwanda, cows are not only an economic asset but a symbol of prosperity and togetherness. In 2022, through A Farm for Families, we cultivated flourishing farms for families in the Kivu Lake and Ruli Mountain regions.

GRATEFUL TOGETHER 2021:
Maternity Project

We also have a lot to be grateful for. We can also do more good together! In 2021, we continued our annual initiative to raise money for projects that need extra financial help through direct donations and givebacks from select coffee during the holiday season.

GRATEFUL TOGETHER 2020:
FOOD FOR FARMERS

During the pandemic, food insecurity rose amongst coffee farmers since they couldn’t go to work due to travel restrictions, curfews, and closed stores. One way the LTH community helped make an immediate impact was by directly donating money for food and necessary supplies.

FORGIVENESS SCHOOL PROJECT

In partnership with a local church and the Rwandan government, we built a primary school for more than 400 students, one third of whom are orphans. The community-driven project provided education and empowerment to a new generation while strengthening their communal ties.

COFFEE BIKES PROJECT

Typically, farmers ride handmade wooden bikes or walk their freshly picked coffee cherries miles to washing stations. We worked with Project Rwanda to help farmers microfinance their own safer, quicker cargo bikes, allowing them to work more efficiently and safely while protecting the quality of their crop.

THE SHEEP PROJECT

Coffee isn’t the only way to create sustainable work in Rwanda. We helped launch a sheep farm that yields enough profit from wool sales to fully support four families and employ members of Kiryamo village. The wool is sold to a local organization where women process and then sell it to high-end clothing designers in the U.S.

FAMILY SUPPORT PROJECT

We support our communities with both immediate and long-term needs. Sometimes, this means helping individuals, like Assia and her family. After her husband, an LTH driver, passed away, the family needed financial support to ensure that the children and grandchildren could stay well-fed and in school.

WATER FOR BWENDA

In Bwenda village, the nearest water source required a 3-hour round trip walk. We helped construct two water catchment systems in the village center providing clean, accessible drinking water for an entire community and enabling a more prosperous future.

EVERGREEN WATER PROJECT

This ongoing campaign ensures that all of the communities we partner with have easy access to clean water. We work with Water for Life and local leadership to bring an easy-to-maintain water catchment system where it’s needed most.

DO GOOD HEALTH

Approved by the Rwandan Ministry of Health, this project supports building a Community Health Clinic. The public clinic provides much-needed healthcare access to more than 10,000+ farmers and everyone in the community.

GRATEFUL TOGETHER

We also have a lot to be grateful for. We can also do more good together! In 2021, we kicked off an annual initiative to raise money for projects that need extra financial help through direct donations and givebacks from select coffee during the holiday season.

FOOD FOR FARMERS

During the pandemic, food insecurity rose amongst coffee farmers since they couldn’t go to work due to travel restrictions, curfews, and closed stores. One way the LTH community helped make an immediate impact was by directly donating money for food and necessary supplies.

FORGIVENESS SCHOOL PROJECT

In partnership with a local church and the Rwandan government, we’re building a primary school for more than 400 students, one third of whom are orphans. This community-driven project will educate and empower a new generation while strengthening their communal ties.

COFFEE BIKES PROJECT

Typically, farmers ride handmade wooden bikes or walk their freshly picked coffee cherries miles to washing stations. We worked with Project Rwanda to help farmers microfinance their own safer, quicker cargo bikes, allowing them to work more efficiently and safely while protecting the quality of their crop.

THE SHEEP PROJECT

Coffee isn’t the only way to create sustainable work in Rwanda. We helped launch a sheep farm that yields enough profit from wool sales to fully support four families and employ members of Kiryamo village. The wool is sold to a local organization where women process and then sell it to high-end clothing designers in the U.S.

FAMILY SUPPORT PROJECT

We support our communities with both immediate and long-term needs. Sometimes, this means helping individuals, like Assia and her family. After her husband, an LTH driver, passed away, the family needed financial support to ensure that the children and grandchildren could stay well-fed and in school.

WATER FOR BWENDA

In Bwenda village, the nearest water source required a 3-hour round trip walk. We helped construct two water catchment systems in the village center providing clean, accessible drinking water for an entire community and enabling a more prosperous future.

EVERGREEN WATER PROJECT

This ongoing campaign ensures that all of the communities we partner with have easy access to clean water. We work with Water for Life and local leadership to bring an easy-to-maintain water catchment system where it’s needed most.

water for bwenda

do good health

Family support Project


STORIES coming soon

COFFEE BIKES PROJECT

Sheep farm PROJECT

forgiveness school project

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