Protecting the health of small-scale producers' families and their neighbors

In November 2018, when Zensho employees visited the coffee-producing region at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro and discussed local challenges with the producers' cooperative, the representative, Mr. Uromi, proposed an initiative that was unusual for Kilimanjaro.
"Many producers are experiencing skin and throat problems. We believe that the pesticides used in coffee cultivation may be one of the causes. For the sake of their health, we want to switch to organic farming that does not use pesticides."

The small-scale coffee producers that Zensho works with minimize the amount and frequency of pesticide use to ensure product safety. However, they also grow various other crops such as bananas and potatoes year-round on a field of less than 0.5 hectares near their homes, alongside coffee. Therefore, it cannot be denied that the pesticides sprayed on the coffee trees may have some effect on the health of the producers and their families.

Zensho believes that producer cooperatives should promote organic farming on their own initiative.
- We can provide our customers with safer, more secure, and delicious coffee than ever before.
- It can reduce health risks to producers.
- We can promote sustainable agriculture that has less impact on the environment, and pass on fertile land to our children.
With that in mind, we decided to support this new initiative.

Then, in 2019, several local cooperatives belonging to the producer association with which Zensho works switched to organic farming. Organic JAS-certified Kilimanjaro coffee was shipped to Zensho.

Zensho will continue to work with small-scale producers and producer cooperatives living at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro to address challenges and provide necessary support for the transition to organic farming and obtaining organic certification, so that this initiative can expand efficiently. In addition, we will gradually begin offering organic JAS Kilimanjaro coffee, which is difficult to obtain in Japan, within our group so that customers can easily enjoy it.