One of the greatest responsibilities I have as a business owner is to give power to people. In a society that promotes self-preservation, individualism and profit, it is all too rare to see owners and businesses utilize their “power” to “empower”. Because to give power, means we have to relinquish control. To relinquish control, we put our progress and ourselves at risk. Or at least perceptually. 

 

 

In the coffee industry, empowerment seems to be an ever raging battle, whether it’s Starbucks employees attempting to unionize, or the fact that the majority of coffee farmers just simply get screwed. 

 

Alas, we have got to make people *think* we are empowering those under us so we can sell more products and make the consumer feel warm and fuzzy about their purchase – so we do impact projects at origin or host once-a-month pizza parties for our staff. 

 

Are impact projects or pizza parties inherently bad? No, of course not, but if we’re actually honest, are these just facades to appease the idea that we are “empowering”? What does it look like to actually give power to those we work alongside? 

 

I could go on all day about the industry and its issues - and trust me - there is plenty to unpack and call out.

In our attempts to do things differently, we are always evaluating what this means for our coffee partners and employees. Originally this started with hiring refugees, and wanting to provide a job that could set them up for success whether that was to stay with the company or pursue other career opportunities. After years of discussions, lots of mistakes, and growth, we’ve really taken a look at what it means to give power to people, allowing them to truly take authority over their life and the decisions that lead to that. One concept we’ve adopted on the retail level for example is an hourly wage guarantee. If tips don’t allow your hourly average at payroll to be $18/hour, we make up the difference. This gives a sense of security alongside the ability to project and plan, allowing for staff to make better financial decisions. On the coffee buying side… well, this is a massive pain point. Sure, we work with trusted partners and do everything in our power to pay a price/lb that is equivalent to a living wage, but ultimately, we are working within a system that inherently disempowers farmers. It’s often justified with “free market” jargon making it sound complicated with big words and commodity market theory. Or just as bad, going down to origin and dictating what a farmer invests in or how they process, but oftentimes not sharing in the risk mitigation. And though a lot of this sounds cynical or defeating (cause it is), there is good work being done. But on relatively small scales.  In case you didn’t know, 70% of green coffee globally is traded through 3-4 companies. How is that empowering when so few hold control over so much? And yet this also exists significantly in our own country…  If you wanna ever learn more about anti-trust laws or monopolies, I highly recommend following Matt Stoller.  I don’t have the answers, but I can tell you pretty confidently that the Grasshoppers are still very much in control - and they don’t want to give any of it up. I want Mad Priest to be a place of empowerment in all areas of our supply chain. I want anyone associated with MP, whether it’s a farmer, a barista, or a customer, to feel that they have some sense of empowerment. Who knows… maybe one day we’ll become a co-op.   +Michael, High Priest