Learning Thai

Our purpose for going to Luang Prabang was to visit Saffron Coffee. We were very impressed with this operation - they plant their own coffee, give the young plants to the farmers, buy the cherries back from the farmers, process and roast the beans, then sell the coffee in their shop! And all of this is done in a way that promotes economic development for poor farmers and also promotes Kingdom values. Small groups are being started in remote mountain villages because of their influence.

Coffee sprouts.

Our friend Pon had a school break that coincided perfectly with the team's visit, so they invited him to accompany us on the trip. We enjoyed his company and it was a great chance for him to make good connections with the business group and with other believers in Laos and Thailand.

David, Saffron Coffee's founder, took us to visit a Hmong village where some of his coffee is being grown. We took a long, bumpy ride up a mountain to get there.

A number of farmers are growing small plots of coffee and as the market expands more of them will be able to convert this into a full-time job. Here a small batch of coffee is drying in the sun.

It was encouraging to see what is happening in Luang Prabang. This whole venture is still in the early stages, but they have expansion plans and hope to continue finding more markets for their coffee. We were blessed by the fellowship and by the natural beauty of God's creation in that part of the world.

-Tom