3A Blog

It didn’t take long today until I had people start asking how I felt about TOMS new one for one coffee product that provides clean water. I think the only way to answer that question is to be 100% real, open, honest, and vulnerable. I pretty quickly went through a couple stages: shock, anger, confusion, sadness, and landing on hope. In January of 2010, I traveled to Uganda with a group from my church. My life was forever changed by what I saw. I came back to the US and quickly launched Three Avocados as a non-profit with a dream...

Change! That’s what I dreamt of when I first visited Uganda. On my second trip to Uganda, in the small village of Mbulamuti, I spotted this mud hut. It’s the standard mud-hut-with-grass-roof that litters the landscape of Africa. But I instantly fell in love with the word ‘Change’ that someone had spray painted on the side. What a beautiful reminder! Together, we can change the world! -Joe

In a world so wrought with injustice and sin, there is little more beautiful than love. Perhaps that’s why I find this photo so touching and heartbreaking at the same time. We see a young girl caring for her infant sibling while mom tries to barely scratch out a living. She lovingly snuggles her sibling, yet, with love, our hearts break, wanting to find a way to help. -Joe

The left half of this photo shows this sweet little girl waiting while cheese sandwiches were handed out at a coffee coop meeting in Nicaragua. Moments later, they were all gone and she was still empty handed, starting at the food with longing eyes. The right side of the photo shows how she looked after her brother gave her the cheese off of his sandwich (you can read the full story here). An amazing act of compassion for small children. -Joe

We met this amazing woman while high in the mountains of Nicaragua. She invited us into her home and insisted we sit while she stood. She was so cheerful and thankful for everything in her life. She viewed each day as a gift. The people that I’ve met in my travels to Uganda and Nicaragua have truly amazed me. I’ll let you in on a secret…Three Avocados isn’t really a coffee company. We’re a people company. -Joe