Our Impact - 11 Million Trees Project
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The first line you read on our website is “motivated by impact”. But sure anyone can have a marketing line. It only means something when it costs you something.
Behind the Label has just funded the planting of 500 coffee plants in Timor-Leste. Writing that down sounds simple. It wasn’t. For a business at our stage, every bit of cash has a home. There is always something more immediate to spend it on. Stock, equipment, and general overheads.
The project itself is something I’ve been paying close attention to ever since I read about the history of coffee in Timor Leste in a recent Standart magazine (kickass coffee subscription magazine.). The article was from Raw Materials Coffee who are leading the project Behind the Label are helping fund.
Coffee in Timor-Leste is incredibly important, but the reality on the ground is tough. A lot of the trees currently in production are around 40 years old. Yields are low. Productivity is low. And that feeds directly into income, with many farmers earning between $200 and $500 a year from coffee.
At the same time, coffee is one of the country’s main exports. Entire communities depend on it.
The 11 million trees project starts with replanting new coffee trees that are higher yielding and more resilient. But it is not just about putting plants in the ground. It is also about improving how coffee is processed, how it is handled, and ultimately how it can be sold into better markets through education provided by Raw Materials.
It is slow work. Coffee does not give you quick wins. You plant today for something that might properly pay off in years
These 500 plants are not for now.
Once they mature, the first harvest comes back to us from the project. For us, that means we will receive around 300kg of coffee from trees we helped put into the ground, which is something I am genuinely so so so excited about. There is something about roasting coffee you funding the planting of I can't put into words.
After that, the trees stay where they are. With the farmers. Producing year after year. Creating income that wasn’t there before.
That is the bit that makes it make sense.
It is not a one-off. It is not a gesture. It is something that continues long after the initial decision is made.
The 500 plants we funded are a tiny part of a much bigger effort, but they are real. They will grow. They will produce. And over time, they will contribute to something that is far more important that flat whites and vibes.
When I actually committed to it, I realised it was probably the happiest I have felt spending money since starting Behind the Label. Not because it was easy, but because it felt right.
If this is what Behind the Label is going to be, then decisions like this have to be part of it. Otherwise “motivated by impact” is just words.
This is a small step, but it is a real one.
And it is only the beginning.