ABOUT US
Ethos Agriculture is a team of coffee sector and supply chain experts specialized in design, partnership building and research. We focus on creating a safe place for disruptive thinking in the coffee sector. In order to achieve this, we facilitate collaboration between initiatives and organizations across the sector - from coffee communities to consumers, resulting in creating opportunities for joint learning and collective impact.
What we do
Collaboration, Innovation and Sustainability are a mutually reinforcing triad. To fully unlock these forces requires new forms of engagement and alignment between stakeholders that are typically operating in silos.
Following a structured methodology, we assess your organization to identify your sustainability priorities. This leads to the design of a cohesive strategy, which identifies appropriate tools and targets partnership opportunities to address your priorities. Whether this requires value chain connections or attracting funders to leverage investments, we can help you along the way.
Our Services
Program Design
Define a sustainability identity and outline a pathway to drive collective impact through short, medium and long-term work plans
Build Partnerships
Leverage your program to attract additional resources, align value chain partners and engage consumers to support social and environmental causes
Investigative Research
Increase public discourse and hold industry accountable against their own public commitments and the Sustainable Development Goals
Our Initiatives
Coffee Barometer
The Coffee Barometer is a bi-annual report and corresponding advocacy campaign which calls for existing actors in the industry to step up. In coffee producing countries, roasters and traders could play a critical role in many of the most pressing environmental and social challenges identified in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unfortunately, their individual policies, plans, and funding are often disconnected from the local realities, from each other, and largely focus on single issues. There is no reason for more delay. If more of the value generated from coffee is to get into the hands of coffee farmers, then multi-stakeholder initiatives need binding commitments, robust mechanisms that confirm progress in the field, and more than shoestring budgets so we can see concrete impact being delivered.(Download PDF)
USADF Coffee Program
The USADF Coffee Program is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to accelerate the development of East Africa coffee enterprises through a combination of grants, capacity building and value chain services. Our approach, is designed and implemented in 6 countries: Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Malawi(Download PDF)
Sacred Sierra
If we want to move away from a Northern driven framing and interpretation of sustainability towards a more equal approach, then farmers in origin need more agency in the design and development of initiatives. With this focus we want to support a producer organization that is claiming their role as a leader in sustainability to protect their sacred lands. ANEI'sSacred Sierra initiative outlines a more holistic approach that combines trade, job creation, research, technology and conservation. The ambition of this initiative is to provide ANEI with investment and strategic partners to build systems that establish the Sierra Nevada as a globally recognized center of innovation and sustainability leadership through an integrated strategy.(Download PDF)
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Meet the Team
Our extensive experience and networks - at origin, the US and Europe - enables us to facilitate unique initiatives that leverage the private sector, international development, technology and research to create a collaborative advantage
Saurin Nanavati
Design
He founded Ethos Agriculture in 2017 to promote sustainable trade approaches that leverage his experience in cooperative management, agricultural research, rural development, finance and data science. He enjoys designing programs that use trade, data, and communications to amplify unrepresented voices in supply chains and ensure they are acknowledged and compensated as the guardians of their landscapes.
Frederik de Vries
Partner
Frederik specializes in facilitating strategic partnerships and implementing business development strategies. He believes the best way to create value is to share values. Prior to joining Ethos, he was responsible for Rainforest Alliance global partnership program to improve the reach, visibility and impact of RA´s work. He is passionate about fostering collaboration to reduce inequalities for those with limited access to knowledge, partners and resources.
Sjoerd Panhuysen
Research
Sjoerd is a sociologist specialized in environment and sustainable development. His main areas of expertise include livelihoods improvement of farmers and workers, agricultural market development and sustainability standards in coffee, tea and cocoa value chains. Sjoerd is the lead author of the Coffee Barometer and the official DJ of Ethos.
Eric Rukwaya
Trade
Eric emphasizes collaborative development with coffee communities across East Africa. Prior to his role at Ethos, he worked with different international organizations, closely collaborating with many East African producer groups, enhancing quality and market access. He has experience in specialty coffee cupping, sourcing and supply, project implementation and farmers capacity-building. Eric is an incredible trainer, talking the language of specialty coffee buyers, producers, government and NGO’s.
Stay in Touch
Please reach out by email or via the below contact form, follow us on LinkedIn or enjoy the Drink Different Podcast where we share interviews with coffee sustainability experts across the sector to allow us all to think and drink different.
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