We had the good fortune of connecting with ZacharyRay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi ZacharyRay, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
If you’re lucky enough, you’ll have moments in your life that someone helps you level up. If you’re grateful enough, you’ll know that the best thing you can do is to pay it forward. I’ve had these moments that changed my life and leveled me up. In my younger adult years, after I had been helped by someone I never met to get through college, I got the opportunity to meet fair trade coffee farmers from around the world. I learned about their struggles and that by purchasing fair trade coffee, you can dramatically help someone live a better life. I was inspired by those who helped me and glad to be able to return the favor to others through something as simple as purchasing and consuming fairly traded coffee.

What should our readers know about your business?
We do something fundamentally different in our industry. Desert Sun is a member owner of the only roaster owned organic coffee importing cooperative in North America. Built on fair trade principles and long term partnership support for small scale organic farmers.
We are a relationship importing model. We commit to support our same small scale farmers year after year. We have very high quality standards and run the first independent SCA certified quality control lab. In an effort to continue to support our same small scale farmers we commit to buying their coffee even when the harvest quality comes in lower than our standards. We purchase the coffee anyway and sell it to roasters with lesser quality standards.
We put 3 cents per pound towards environmental initiatives in our Impact fund focused on financially incentivizing carbon sequestration, reforestation projects, organic composting facilities, and producer exchanges (unheard of in our industry)
Additionally we support quality control initiatives abroad. Our investments in these communities, along with our excellent trading practices, makes us their preferred buyer. That coupled with cutting out the middle men, allows us to sell a much higher quality coffee for a better price.
Our direct connection allows us to visit the farms regularly and see for our selves what is going on and where me might continue to contribute to the well being of farmers.
Most all coffee in the United States is brought into the country by brokers. Brokers then reach out to roasters in an attempt to sell the coffee that they purchased from an exporter. Roasters connection to the coffee is generally very minimal. Brokers, who haven’t travelled to origin, will make claims about the coffee, greenwashing the actual truth

The truth is it is difficult for the average person to have the bandwidth to understand the complexity of the international supply chain. It’s our job to know that what we do is provide some of the best terms of trade available to producers. Our hope, is that consumers trust us to do the right thing. The challenge is sifting through the greenwashing so a consumer can truly know that what we do is different.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Someone coming to Durango for a week should probably take a drive on the million dollar highway. It’s such a great example of what our area has to offer.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oxfam America has a program called the CHANGE Initiative. Where they fly students from around the world to Boston every summer for an intensive training course in student activism, lobbying, campaigning and general leadership around issues that are most meaningful to you. I attended their week long course and was invited back to facilitate and later to be the head facilitator of the program. The quote, “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. That there is genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” After completion of the training, I traveled the U.S. to conferences to study and learn more about leadership and issues concerning those who are less well off in the world.

Website: www.desertsuncoffee.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desertsuncoffee/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desertsuncoffee

Image Credits
Todd Macon

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.