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Eliezer and Eliaman Munuo
Messe Ngarony Specialty Coffee Growers
"I was born in this village," says Elizier Munuo. "My parents were coffee farmers."
Elizier has continued the family tradition. He is a founding member of Messe Ngarony Specialty Coffee, a group of smallholder farmers in Northern Tanzania who have been selling their coffee to Peet’s since 2004.
The family farm is nestled on the western slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak. At 5,200 feet, the dew sticks to Elizier’s coffee cherries well into the afternoon.
"Coffee is our largest source of income. But this hasn’t always made life easy for us," Elizier and his wife Eliaman explain. "We have seven children to take care of. We’ve also been raising my brother’s two sons since he passed away. We want the best for all of them " a good house, a good education " and that depends on coffee. Before, our income was unpredictable. We didn’t know if we’d be able to keep our children in school."
Over the past several years, working with Peet’s, the Munuo family has used higher prices to send all of their children through high school. Next year, they expect that Elineema, 19, and Elihuruma, 18, will be the first in the family to attend college.
"We are far ahead now. We’re no longer thinking about whether this year’s prices will be enough to get by – we’re thinking about buying a car."
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