Pure Origin
“Our passion lies in both people and coffee.”
Beyond its well-known stimulant effects, coffee consumption can provide numerous health benefits, including a reduced risk of developing conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, as supported by various studies.
Furthermore, coffee can enhance not only physical health but also spiritual and ethical well-being. Just think about enjoying your morning “cup of joe” and how it would transform your experience to know the origins of your coffee and how it aids an underserved community across the globe.
This is the vision of Pure Origin Coffee. Their goal is to intertwine the world through “pure coffee, pure people, [and] pure stories.”
“Our passion lies in both people and coffee. The art and science of coffee have the power to unite everyone,” expresses Amy Kihnke, the marketing manager for Pure Origin.
Pure Origin is dedicated to sourcing exceptional coffee beans while ensuring fair compensation for farmers, and their mission extends further. They aim to establish deep, personal connections between consumers and producers and provide support for non-profit initiatives within these communities.
“By sharing farmers’ narratives and projects around the globe, we encourage communities to support sustainable efforts,” remarks Kihnke. Using innovative augmented reality technology, Pure Origin animates images of farmers on their coffee bags, showcasing the projects they endorse. “Consumers can take pride in knowing their coffee helps fund clean water initiatives, aids small businesses, and even provides cervical cancer testing, among other causes!”
Grounds For Health
“We will strive tirelessly until every woman has access to quality cervical cancer prevention services.”
In Kenya, Pure Origin actively supports Grounds for Health, an international non-profit organization that collaborates with coffee businesses and health officials to address the issue of cervical cancer.
Grounds for Health’s mission is clear: “We aim to create a pathway to universally accessible health care by preventing cervical cancer within underserved coffee communities,” as stated on their website.
Cervical cancer, which is largely preventable, is responsible for a significant number of cancer-related deaths among women in East Africa. Grounds for Health is resolute in its mission to alter this disturbing reality: “We will not rest until every woman can access high-quality cervical cancer prevention services.”
This unique intersection of coffee and social activism began with Dan Cox, the founder, during a transformative business trip to Mexico in 1996. Witnessing dire poverty and gender inequality profoundly shifted his perspective.
“Whether it was faith, naivete, or sheer luck, something clicked for me, and 25 years later, here we are, having expanded to five additional countries, screened over 135,000 women, treated over 11,000, while also training more than 575 medical professionals and over 1,000 community health advocates,” reflects Cox.
They recognized that a grave imbalance in healthcare access is a fundamental issue in underserved areas, particularly in rural coffee-growing regions. To address these disparities, Grounds for Health focuses on training local health care workers in cervical cancer prevention, ensuring that women are treated with dignity and respect throughout the process.
