Did you know there was a traditional blessing black folks have been sharing with their coffee for thousands of years? Yeah, neither did we until the King of Guji, aka @turewaji put us on game during our trip last year! The phrase, originally in Afan Oromo, is a blessing that has been shared with family and fiends for over 1500 years in indigenous coffee communities in Oromia, and roughly translates to “May you lack no coffee nor peace in your home”.
It’s beautiful to realize that coffee was a symbol of peace to the indigenous Africans who discovered it. It’s equally as horrifying to see that coffee has been antithetical to this for the overwhelming majoring of the black and brown folks who have contributed to the 225 billion dollars that the coffee generates annually. If coffee is to become “nagayaa” (afan oromo for peace) again, the wealth grown from this seed must be given back to the black and brown hands who create it’s beauty worldwide. (For more information on this blessing, and it’s rolle in the religious and culture life of the people of Guji, Ture Waji recommends reading the text, Gadaa System: Heritage of Humanity )
For the last 4 months we’ve been sharing this traditional Guji blessing to every person we serve coffee to at the @antigentrificationcoffeeclub As we get ready to first official (and unofficial) screening of the documentary sharing details of our experience in Ethiopia (stay tuned!!) we couldn’t be more hype to share that the the theme of our experience is now officially installed in our hood and on mugs create with our first title sponsor, Miir.
This mural depicts Nesru aba Nura and her daughter making arguably the best cup of coffee we had all last year at her at her husband @mensurabahika home in Gera, and town in the wester part of Oromia Ethiopia. Designed by @joecoolart , and in collaboration with @rjvcollectives, this mural and camp represent the reflationary of our communities peace
This is the coffee culture that cash crop capitalism, slavery, colonialism, and gentrification have been hiding from us. And we reclaiming in our hood, and through the stories we learned in the upcoming documentary.
If you want to join the movement grab one of the limited edition camp cups made in collaboration with @miir and designed by @rjv_collectives, and scan the code on the back get access to every single screening we do this year, as well as a download of the official documentary soundtrack, unreleased images from our trip to Ethiopia, extended interviews, and a ticket to the official documentary screening debut at the Color of Coffee Symposium in May, the first ever bipoc coffee conference it’s kind. There will also be a very limited pre-release secret screening in Boston during the SCA conference.