BNH is a volunteer-driven organization whose main mission is to support grassroots development projects in Central America. In 2002, workers from a coffee co-op, El Porvenir, approached volunteers from BNH as their community was in dire need of support to find buyers for their coffee. The El Porvenir Coffee Cooperative is a worker-owned, certified-organic coffee farm situated near Leon, Nicaragua managed by 46 member families. BNH supports El Porvenir through a direct trade relationship to sell the coffee in Pittsburgh, and through grants for education, infrastructure development, and emergency relief. In addition to supporting the local community, BNH is partnering with the local community to expand the market for ethically traded coffee.
What We Did:
Hosted a case competition centered around BNH on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus at the Tepper School of Business, with participation from 8 teams of 28 students across academic disciplines
Constructed case materials to help students understand challenges facing BNH’s farmers
Curated ideas and prototypes to help BNH strengthen their brand and expand the market for ethically traded coffee
Provide BNH with actionable insights as well as short and long term recommendations
Testimonial:
“Thanks again to all of the DSO for creating a wonderful environment and event on Saturday, and for all the hardwork that all of you put in over the past few months. It was really an inspiration!” - Therese Tardio, BNH Board Member
Team: Ajay Ghadiyaram, Andrea Salomon, Shubhangam Tekriwal, Kelly Mok, Amy Badiani, Anthony Buchanan, Saurabh Sanghvi, Lester Xue
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