When Plans Change in the Island of Dominica

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Jeff Knowles arrived on the tiny island of Dominica in early July 2019 to begin his work with the Dominica Coffee Revitalization Initiative (DCRI). His F2F assignment aimed to help the DCRI create a plan to test planting plots of Arabica coffee.

Arabica coffee is a specialty coffee and the DCRI hopes it could create a strong coffee industry in Dominica. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the coffee sector has been deficient because of a lack of labor to produce the coffee stemming from the aging farmer population and a shortage of young growers remaining on the farms. The coffee culture also needs to be rebuilt because Dominicans have moved away from consuming coffee.

The assignment’s tentative choice of location was the Morne Aux Diables, an active volcano with fertile soil. Little did Knowles know that over the course of his assignment he and the DCRI would have to abandon this idea entirely as they gained deeper knowledge about conditions on the volcano’s hillside. When Knowles visited the site, he was concerned that there were too high winds and the soil was too wet for the delicate flowers of the Arabica coffee.



In the constantly changing environments of host countries, Partners of the Americas is lucky to have volunteers and host organizations that have the self-awareness and adaptability to change plans even late in an assignment. The DCRI will continue to search for a suitable location to grow Arabica coffee in Dominica with future Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers, having decided against this location before resources could be wasted.

Knowles felt honored that everyone he talked with supported the idea of growing a specialty coffee and expressed a desire to assist in the initiative. Whether by design or good fortune, the DCRI team met many key community leaders who each can contribute time, expertise, technical assistance, and money toward the project. He recommended involving the farming community and governmental industries to ensure the process will be locally-led.

 “Having just completed my 12th F2F assignment and returning to Hawaii from my assignment in Dominica, I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to serve in such a unique part of the world. Dominica seems to be a hidden gem of the Caribbean and is one of the most beautiful places I have worked in. It was such a pleasure to observe the natural beauty of the island. Meeting with and listening to government officials, villagers and farmers lead me to believe the island has a tremendous pool of people that are talented, skilled and resourceful.

I love the vision that the DCRI has for Dominican Coffee. If indeed Dominican Coffee can rate among the world’s best quality coffee and break into the world’s specialty coffee market, the long-term benefits for farmers and the communities of Dominica would be tremendous.”



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