
Projects - A bakery for the community
‘From small beginnings, great things grow.’ This wisdom inspires us every day at Desta's Coffee. Our passion for high-quality coffee goes hand in hand with a deep desire to give back to the community. Our coffee is the link to sustainably improving the lives of the people around us.
Ethiopia grows some of the best coffee in the world. The country is experiencing rapid economic growth. The capital Addis Ababa is booming. The resulting increase in urbanisation also brings with it many challenges. Rising living costs and food prices are placing an increasing burden on Ethiopian families. Providing children with a stable environment under these circumstances, where they can concentrate fully on their health and education, is a major challenge.
Conversations with parents and teachers on site reflect the same concerns time and again: ‘How are we going to feed our children? How can we give them a good education?’
We are deeply moved by this uncertainty and have taken direct action.

The idea: A used bakery as an indicator of hope
The idea: A disused bakery as a beacon of hope
In the midst of these challenges, we came across an old, disused bakery. For us, it symbolised untapped potential. Instead of just talking about what could be done with it, we wanted to take action. We decided to rebuild the bakery and integrate it into our mission as part of a new project. Our goal: to deliver fresh bread to selected schools every school day and thus not only satisfy the children's hunger, but also give them the chance of an education.
Bread and education for everyone
With the support of the local authorities, schools and teaching staff, we identified the children and families who were most in need of help. After a short remodelling phase, our bakery resumed operations and soon after, the first deliveries of bread rolled out to the selected schools every morning. The smell of freshly baked bread became a sign of hope and community.


An effective initiative
What began as a modest initiative quickly grew into a powerful project that had far-reaching positive effects. Many children were able to attend school for the first time.Families no longer had to worry about feeding them.And the schoolchildren's academic performance improved thanks to the local food supply.But that's not all: the bakery also created local jobs and thus strengthened the local economy. Our initiative did not go unnoticed for long. The government became aware of our food programme and implemented similar projects throughout the country.
What began as a small project has inspired others and galvanised them into action.The joy and smiles of the children who were finally able to sit full in their classrooms can now be seen throughout Ethiopia.
Achieving great things together
At Desta's Coffee, we believe that true change comes from the heart. Even very small gestures can bring about big changes. Our bakery project shows that even small gestures can bring about big changes in the long term. We do everything we can to keep finding new ways to support the community through our work and our coffee and to inspire others to do the same.
Together with you, our customers and supporters, we want to continue to create hope and prospects in Ethiopia - bread for today and education for tomorrow.
