06/01/2026
To kick off Canyon’s Sustainability Month, we’re featuring one of our most important sourcing partners: Farmers Project and Café con Amor in Costa Rica.
Promoting sustainability through sourcing can be tricky. The coffee supply chain is long, marketing and messaging can be misleading, and traceability information is often difficult to find. That’s why long-term direct trade relationships matter.
When built with a trusted partner, direct trade can create more transparency, trust, value, and stability throughout the supply chain. It helps remove the veil of anonymity from producers, connecting them more directly to roasters and coffee drinkers. At its best, it creates mutually beneficial relationships where quality, fairness, and long-term sustainability work together.
Before founding Farmers Project Specialty Coffee, Jonathan and Marianella Jost (both UNL alumni), purchased a farm and started coffee farming, literally learning from the ground up. Two years later, they joined forces with other local farmers to found Farmers Project, a collective committed to achieving 100% Direct Trade. By selling their coffee directly to roasters at fair prices, the group helps workers and their families improve their livelihoods while supporting healthy, sustainable farming practices. Today, the project employs 35 full-time workers, 24 part-time workers, and 165 seasonal pickers across more than 200 sustainable hectares.
We’re incredibly proud to partner with Farmers Project and support their mission to cultivate quality coffee through sustainable practices, long-term relationships, and business rooted in integrity and fairness.
Have questions? Drop them in the comments!
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