Tag: Spirit Mountain

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We are taught to tell (I mean live) good stories

If you have been following Porch Culture, you know our beginnings are in the Dominican Republic and our hearts are still very much entwined with the school and the farm that ignited the flame for Porch Culture Coffee Roasters.
Perhaps you have read the Porch Culture Story.  Today we want to dedicate a little time to telling a bit of our friends stories.  A little snapshot of each to set a foundation for the many future stories you will hear about the on goings of Spirit Mountain and Doulos Discovery School.

These guys taught us so much of what we know about telling a better story with your life.

A School

Porch Culture truly began in the Dominican Republic in 2003 when Doulos Discovery opened its doors in the mountain town of Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic with the hope of changing lives and communities through servant leadership.
In a country mostly known for corruption and poverty, the founders of The Doulos Discovery School set out to tell a different education story based on service and discipleship.
Few believed the rich would pay to send their kids to school with the poor.  Few believed US certified teachers would opt out of paying jobs to fund raise for their income.  Few believed this project would work.
Because of those few that did believe and took the risk, Doulos Discovery is going strong with nearly 300 students, half of those on need based scholarship.
You can ready more of their revolutionary story at doulosdiscovery.org.

A Farm

If Porch Culture began at a school, then it grew into a reality on a farm.
Just 15 miles away from Jarabacoa and the Doulos Discovery School, in the mountain community of La Angostura, there is a coffee farm that hopes to change lives and communities through coffee and ecological preservation.
In an industry marked by disregarding communities and ravaging landscapes, the owners of Spirit Mountain Coffee Plantation set out to tell a different agriculture story.
The 350 acre ecological reserve not only produces a quality crop of organic, 100% arabica coffee but also follows fair labor practices and preservation through the planting of 1000’s of trees.
Spirit Mountain operates as a not-for-profit and exists to support the work of the Doulos Discovery school and the community of La Angostura.
You can of course learn more of their story at spiritmountaincoffee.com

A Roaster. 

With those 2 stories preceding us we have some big risk taking, cliff jumping, redemption loving shoes to fill.
So much of the Porch Culture story is still left to be written lived.  We hope to do our friends proud.

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Vision | farther up and further in

create | give | restore

Where we want to go we cannot go alone.

create |

To create a love for profoundly good coffee among the people of Tyler and friends of Doulos across the map.
There is good coffee, which tastes good, and then there is profoundly good coffee, which tastes good and is good to all the people involved in the process of bringing it to you.

A lot of people love coffee.  Our hope at Porch Culture is for people to love people through coffee.

Porch Culture coffee beans come to us direct from the Dominican Republic.  Our connection with Spirit Mountain Coffee Plantation and Ecological Reserve began before Porch Culture was even an idea.  The farm is connected with Doulos, the school we worked for in the Dominican Republic.  As part of our jobs we had the privilege of leading student camping trips and hosting US work teams on the farm.

This was our transition from a love for coffee to a love for people through coffee.

You may not ever meet our friends on the farm or at the school but when you choose profoundly good coffee you are choosing to love those friends of ours through coffee.

give |

To give generously and be a channel for others to do the same.

Our plan from the beginning has been to be a coffee business that is built around community and giving.  We are not the first “profit with purpose” business.  There are many outstanding examples that proceed us.  We gleaned from their experience and developed a giving plan for Porch Culture.

$3. That is where we arrived. $3 from every bag sold online is given to Doulos.

But we are just a channel for giving.  It is your choosing Porch Culture coffee that does the giving.

We also know other profoundly good work is going on around us.  Which is why we offer Porch Culture fundraising campaigns  for local non-profits, churches, and schools.  $3 from every bag of coffee through a Porch Culture fundraiser goes to the work of partnering non-profits.

restore |

To be a catalyst of restoration and renewal on the farm, in education, and within the city of Tyler.

On the farm.  There is so much to say about Spirit Mountain.  They are not just a connection we happened to have but a project and a place that we deeply believe in and a story we were eager to be a part of.  In addition to 80 acres of organic coffee, the farm is also an ecological reserve with 1000’s of trees planted over the last 10 years.  The farm is still more than that; it is a learning extension for Doulos, where students come to experience the outdoors as a classroom.

When you purchase Porch Culture you are choosing a farm that loves people through agriculture

In education.  Doulos ignited our imagination with what education can be.  A school dedicated to building bridges, equipping leaders, and serving the community.  Just like Spirit Mountain there is so much to say about Doulos.  They are also a story we are eager to be a part of.  They are the beginning of our story in fact.

When you purchase Porch Culture coffee you are choosing a school that loves people through education.

Within the City.  After being away for several years we are just getting to know Tyler again.  It did not take much searching to find there are profoundly good stories of restoration taking place.  We want to help those stories along and bring more people into them as well.

When you purchase Porch Culture coffee through a Tyler based fundraiser you are choosing to be a part of loving you neighbor through coffee.