Café Pura, meaning ‘pure coffee’, is the brainchild of four high school students — Sophie Plummer, Hannah Tarleton, Carlton Ragsdale and Coy Torreblanca — of the Ohana Institute in Rosemary Beach. Part of an enormous challenge for their Entrepreneurship class, they are working alongside 30A’s Amavida Coffee and Tea to create and run a non-profit organization.

The goal of Café Pura is to help coffee-growing communities in Chiapas, Mexico, gain access to clean water by creating a stable market for their products. The student-run company is working to raise $15,000 to provide clean water systems and to fund a student trip to foster relationships.

You can find them working every Sunday at the Rosemary Beach Farmers Market from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM, providing freshly brewed Fair Trade Amavida Coffee.

The driving ideology behind this noble undertaking is the fact that even in this day and age, many communities in the world lack access to basic necessities like clean water. Water-related illness is the leading cause of death in the world. However, these problems are about more than just the water. With the current situation, women and children are forced to walk for miles up and down a mountain with buckets and bottles to collect questionable water. This trek consumes very valuable time that could be spent on education and community development.

Café Pura strives to help find a solution. These students believe that together, we can change the lives of farming families in Chiapas… one cup at a time.

If you are interested in buying coffee or learning more about the Café Pura project, please contact Rachel Nussbaum.