Swillings: It Starts with a Cup

J. Swillings, Founder of Phoenix, Arizona 1830-1878

Jack Swilling broke rules. He saw possibility in a desert. And he created something new.
 
So are we.
 
Like our namesake, Swillings holds the belief that potential can be born from ruin. We may not be founding a city. But, we are founding an idea – the idea that coffee can be better and do good.
 
At Swillings, we believe that every person should have the opportunity to build a successful and meaningful life for themselves. And this means crafting and selling coffee in an innovative and transformative way.
 
From the farmers and the pickers of coffee beans to the consumers purchasing them half a world away, Swilling’s is devoted to empowering agricultural communities to create a bright future for themselves. Through thoughtful dedication to rural livelihoods, we believe that investing in education and community development will create the penultimate product – a quality coffee that nurtures those who grow it and those who drink it.
 
How do we do this?

• We work directly with farmers to improve the quality of their harvest. By teaching artisanal and organic methods of growing, we help ensure a sustainable environment and healthy agricultural community. And we offer the right price for a better product.

• We roast at origin to employ members of the coffee community and allow more of the finished product's added value to remain in the growing community. 

• We strive for innovation in all we do because we don’t just sell coffee. We collaborate with farmers and roasters on the ground to develop and market new products always with the intention to contribute to regional financial stability.

 
The history of coffee is both dynamic and dark – not unlike the beverage itself. From its discovery in Ethiopia to its migration to Latin America, its trade has forged a path of prosperity and decline. The modern coffee industry is a powerful one – born by a global economic system with a supply chain spanning continents and which overwhelmingly values quantity over quality. A chain where it is acceptable to grow coffee for global export at the expense of local environments. A chain where the profit from a cup of coffee isn’t reflected in the wages paid to those who grew and picked the beans to create it.
 
We say no.
 
Swillings works in Colombia – where some of the best coffee is grown – with the intention to reimagine this model.
 
We chose Colombia deliberately. Colombia is a name synonymous with great coffee, but the value of this distinction doesn’t always trickle down to the communities who work hardest for it. As Colombia bounces back from a weak decade in coffee production, it faces labor shortages – as pickers seek different opportunities.
 
In rural areas, these farmers strive to increase the quality of their outputs, yet lack the training and resources needed to make better products. We bridge that gap by giving a better price to farmers while putting quality coffee in your cup. Through targeted training, we offer a better price for better coffee grown using organic methods. This reduces pesticides and water pollution – ensuring a healthy community and a healthy consumer. And it creates a resilient and thriving coffee community – from the grower to the picker.
 
We roast at origin when no one else does – because coffee roasted half a world from where it is born doesn’t empower those who grow and pick it. By supporting small-scale farming, we encourage economic stability and community prosperity.
 
And we evolve – strategizing new methods that offer greater livelihoods for our partners and more options for our consumers. This includes helping farmers develop and sell new and innovative products to generate more profit in their pockets.
 
By doing these things, we help create the conditions needed for rural communities to thrive. We help mend a social fabric torn by violence, rural-urban migration, and economic stagnation.
 
We sell coffee. And we do it right.
 
We believe that we together – farmers, pickers, roasters and consumers - have the power to change the way things are done.
 
And that change starts with you.  From seed to cup.
 
If you believe what we believe - support rural coffee communities and the organizations working with them.
 
Create with us.
 
Change the rules.

It begins with a cup.

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