Join our team as a fellow and contribute to community-led development in the coffee sector!
The Coffee Sustainability Fellowship provides the opportunity for coffee professionals to work alongside our team on our community-led development programs and consulting projects; learn how to engage in community-led development in the coffee sector from an anti-top down and anti-colonial perspective; and complete the three levels—Foundation, Intermediate, and Professional—of the SCA Coffee Sustainability Program at no cost. Over the course of 10 months, Fellows are expected to work alongside The Chain Collaborative for 8-10 hours a week all while completing their coursework.
“The fellowship program has helped me gain a clear awareness of the difference between the support that organizations in coffee-growing communities actually require and the support that is assumed they should receive. Even the smallest details, such as how we communicate and offer support, can play a part in challenging power dynamics and helping deviate from the industry norm.”
Beamlak Bekele (Ethiopia)
Through the Coffee Sustainability Fellowship you will:
- Work alongside The Chain Collaborative staff, local leader partners, and collabs partners.
- Complete all levels of the SCA Coffee Sustainability Program and receive additional training in community-led development.
- Be recognized as a Coffee Sustainability Fellow and build a stellar resume in the coffee and development sectors.
“This fellowship has taught me that coffee farmers are so much more than the stories we hear about vulnerability and poverty; they are modern professionals, passionate sustainability experts, and powerful agents for change within their own communities. This experience has given me the opportunity to not just learn from coffee producers first-hand, but to play an active role in supporting these leaders as they build their capacity for development and advance meaningful, sustainable projects by, with, and for their own communities.”
Livia Petzinger (USA/Brazil)
Apply to the Fellowship Program
Applications for the 2025 Coffee Sustainability Fellowship are due November 15, 2024. You can download the application below. Please direct any questions or completed applications to info@thechaincollaborative.org.