Entrepreneurs organisation LYFE story

Brian Keegan CEO 360GROUP

LYFE matched Brian Keegan with entrepreneurial grower-cooperatives in Kenya

ENTREPRENEURS ORGANISATION COMES TO LYFE

Through an EO chapter buddy of mine, Robin Smith <https://www.eonetwork.org/Directory/MemberProfile.aspx?View=Business&id=%7bEDA12B32-3EBF-4926-98AF-B75D75F86BCB%7d> , I was fortunate enough to come across the Lorna Young Foundation (LYF), named after a woman who pioneered the selling of fair trade <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade> coffee to supermarkets. Fair trade was created to deliver farmers in developing countries a better price for their commodity crops through a more direct relationship with their consumers.

Last year, the "E" was added to LYF to create the Lorna Young Foundation of Entrepreneurs <http://www.lyfe.ac/en_GB/index.html> (LYFE). In an innovative initiative to tackle global poverty, LYFE matches successful entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial grower-cooperatives across Asia, Africa and Latin America. LYFE’s objective is for entrepreneurs in the west to mentor farming co-operatives in the developing world and to offer peer-to-peer learning on how to better run their businesses.

“LYFE has the capacity to become a global portal for high-quality, directly-traded products and produce. Just add entrepreneurs like us,” said Robin Smith. “I’ve stood in poverty and drunk cold, communal maise soup while sifting high-grade, organic mulches (laced with caterpillars) and binding plants that keep the soil attached to the mountain— all under the canopy of a restored rainforest. It was fantastic, and these are fabulous people. When successful, they will end local poverty and change governments. They are both democratic and liberating.”

In December, it was my turn to see what Robin was talking about. I was assigned a pilot project and travelled to a place in central Kenya called the Meru region <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meru%2C_Kenya> . Farmers in that area are getting a bum deal on their produce because of a corrupt supply chain. For every US$3 we spend on a cup of coffee, the farmer receives US$0.3-0.6, or just 1-2%. I later discovered that because of a heavily guarded supply chain, farmers remain in the dark about what happens to their produce after it leaves their farm gates. And since coffee is the second-highest traded commodity in the world after oil, this is big business.

Luckily, things are starting to change. A piece of legislation known as "The Second Window" allows farmers to sell directly to international buyers. The problem was that farmers and their co-operatives didn’t know about this— or, as we discovered, were being misinformed by interested parties. Their only source of information was the supply chain.

With eight years of EO membership under my belt and three years on the EO London chapter board, I was armed with all the best practices for this kind of project. I arrived at the coffee co-operative near the town of Nyeri in Meru. Meetings with the co-op committee members, credit unions and local government representatives helped me understand what was happening. On day three, I held a strategic workshop with the committee members. Every member, from the Chairman down, is a small-hold farmer, so at the beginning, they were suspicious as to why I was there. But when we broke through that barrier, they just wanted me to tell them what to do. However, through my Forum and mentoring experiences, I knew to use Gestalt Language Protocol, and I allowed them to debate the issues and come to their own conclusions. This took longer, but it had a much stronger outcome.

The session revealed opportunities that were previously concealed by interested parties. It


Eradicate poverty Universal education Empower women Reduce mortality Improve health Combat diseases Ensure sustainability Global partnership	You are in: Entrepreneurs organisation LYFE story Brian Keegan CEO 360GROUP LYFE matched Brian Keegan with entrepreneurial grower-cooperatives in Kenya ENTREPRENEURS ORGANISATION COMES TO LYFE Through an EO chapter buddy of mine, Robin Smith <https://www.eonetwork.org/Directory/MemberProfile.aspx?View=Business&id=%7bEDA12B32-3EBF-4926-98AF-B75D75F86BCB%7d> , I was fortunate enough to come across the Lorna Young Foundation (LYF), named after a woman who pioneered the selling of fair trade <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade> coffee to supermarkets. Fair trade was created to deliver farmers in developing countries a better price for their commodity crops through a more direct relationship with their consumers. Last year, the "E" was added to LYF to create the Lorna Young Foundation of Entrepreneurs <http://www.lyfe.ac/en_GB/index.html> (LYFE). In an innovative initiative to tackle global poverty, LYFE matches successful entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial grower-cooperatives across Asia, Africa and Latin America. LYFE’s objective is for entrepreneurs in the west to mentor farming co-operatives in the developing world and to offer peer-to-peer learning on how to better run their businesses. “LYFE has the capacity to become a global portal for high-quality, directly-traded products and produce. Just add entrepreneurs like us,” said Robin Smith. “I’ve stood in poverty and drunk cold, communal maise soup while sifting high-grade, organic mulches (laced with caterpillars) and binding plants that keep the soil attached to the mountain— all under the canopy of a restored rainforest. It was fantastic, and these are fabulous people. When successful, they will end local poverty and change governments. They are both democratic and liberating.” In December, it was my turn to see what Robin was talking about. I was assigned a pilot project and travelled to a place in central Kenya called the Meru region <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meru%2C_Kenya> . Farmers in that area are getting a bum deal on their produce because of a corrupt supply chain. For every US$3 we spend on a cup of coffee, the farmer receives US$0.3-0.6, or just 1-2%. I later discovered that because of a heavily guarded supply chain, farmers remain in the dark about what happens to their produce after it leaves their farm gates. And since coffee is the second-highest traded commodity in the world after oil, this is big business. Luckily, things are starting to change. A piece of legislation known as "The Second Window" allows farmers to sell directly to international buyers. The problem was that farmers and their co-operatives didn’t know about this— or, as we discovered, were being misinformed by interested parties. Their only source of information was the supply chain. With eight years of EO membership under my belt and three years on the EO London chapter board, I was armed with all the best practices for this kind of project. I arrived at the coffee co-operative near the town of Nyeri in Meru. Meetings with the co-op committee members, credit unions and local government representatives helped me understand what was happening. On day three, I held a strategic workshop with the committee members. Every member, from the Chairman down, is a small-hold farmer, so at the beginning, they were suspicious as to why I was there. But when we broke through that barrier, they just wanted me to tell them what to do. However, through my Forum and mentoring experiences, I knew to use Gestalt Language Protocol, and I allowed them to debate the issues and come to their own conclusions. This took longer, but it had a much stronger outcome. The session revealed opportunities that were previously concealed by interested parties. It	Contribute to our success Lara Morgan, Pacific Direct, explains LYFE Stories Fair Trade Competitive Collaboration Links Glossary
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