Hometown Highlight: Aldea Coffee and Aldea Development

When exceptional coffee and social responsibility intersect, you get Aldea Coffee.

Upon entering an Aldea coffee shop, there is a palpable culture and vibe that exudes community and service. It doesn’t take long to feel like you are with friends as you are greeted with a warm smile, learn the baristas name and receive the special care that they give each one of their patrons.

Aldea was founded to be more than a transactional coffee shop.

Aldea’s sister organization was born out of a mission to empower the farmers of LaUnion, Lempira, Honduras. So, when you pop in for a lavender latte or a coffee pour over, you are positively impacting the lives of men, women, and children in remote areas of Honduras.

You are giving those small farmers in impoverished areas the ability to plant, harvest and bring their coffee to market, where they receive fair value for the coffee beans.

Established in November, 2009, Aldea Development, a registered 501(c)3, was established as Union MicroFinanza with a microfinance focus, which has morphed into a community development organization.

The goal was to create a microfinance organization supporting small-scale farmers. Their staff lives in Honduras and learns from members of the community.

They hear first-hand what limitations, obstacles, and successes the farmers are experiencing and come up with solutions together to greater serve the farmers and community as a whole.

In a time where small scale producers are going out of business, due to the world’s coffee market experiencing a downturn. Aldea has the unique ability to provide stability to farmers. These farmers don’t have to adjust to market rates. Aldea purchases the farmers coffee and pays the farmers consistent prices that are above Fair-Trade prices.

As Aldea’s wholesale and retail business increases, more money goes directly to the farmers pocket book.

With coffee houses in two different West Michigan locations, Aldea has become a gathering place for locals to socialize, work, and just be in a space that is welcoming, calming and super hip and cool!

They are creating community in downtown Grand Haven and Muskegon, very similar to the community they have created in LaUnion, Honduras.

Next time you are deciding which coffee house to patronize, pause and remember, when you choose to purchase your coffee at Aldea, your purchasing power is positively contributing to the quality of lives in impoverished areas of Honduras.

For more information check out www.aldeadevelopment.org and www.aldeacoffee.com.