On the night of August 18th, Henry and Verena Gaibor — the owners of Finca Maputo in Pichincha, Ecuador – were robbed and their lives threatened. With the Gaibors tied up in their farmhouse, the thieves ransacked their home and made off with 220 bags of coffee. Luckily, the thieves crashed a truck containing 150 bags of coffee that was then returned to the Gaibors.
In light of these horrible events, Café Imports green coffee buyer Piero Cristiani has created a donation page to help the Gaibors recoup the value of the stolen 70 bags of coffee. With each bag weighing 50 kg, a total of 3,500 kg (7,716 lb) remains at large, Cristiani is hoping to raise $35,000 that will be given directly to the Gaibors.
There’s a decent chance you’ve had coffee from Finca Maputo before. Madcap, Square One, and Wormhole have all offered coffees grown by the Gaibors, sometimes branded simply as La Perla.
As of the time of publication, there are 22 days remaining in the campaign with a total of $2,445 being donated thus far. Should you feel inclined to donate, please visit their HazVaca page – a site similar to GoFundMe – and give whatever you can. If you are unable to support the cause financially, please consider sharing the donation page with others that may be able to help.
Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
