Royal Coffee Field Visit: Strengthening Partnerships in Ethiopia

 

In November 2025, two team members from Royal Coffee arrived in Hawassa, Ethiopia, just as the workday was getting underway at the Fero Co-op coffee processing facility. Coffee cherries were being sorted and dried, and farmers moved through their usual routines. But over the course of two days, something shifted. Between tasks, dozens of women took a break from their work and into a different kind of line—one that led to HPV screening.

What started as an ordinary day at the co-op became an opportunity—one that gave each woman the chance to take a simple test that could change the course of her life. Royal witnessed how our clinical team administers the majority of our mobile screening campaigns: not in clinics, but in the middle of daily life. In communities where women may walk 10 kilometers to see a doctor, we meet them where they are.

Royal’s team traveled beyond the co-op as well, visiting government-run hospitals and seeing firsthand how early detection connects to treatment and long-term care. Along the way, stories unfolded from nurses and health workers— stories of resilience, of barriers, and of the quiet but powerful impact of access. 

Royal’s partnership with Grounds for Health spans decades, rooted in a belief that responsible sourcing is about more than coffee—it’s about people. It’s about recognizing that the health of a supply chain begins with the health of the individuals within it.

What makes partnerships like this matter isn’t just funding—it’s presence. By coming to origin, listening, and learning, Royal helps close the distance between the global coffee industry and the women at its heart. These shared moments—often over delicious cups of coffee—build a different kind of connection, one that’s grounded in mutual respect and a shared understanding that all women, no matter where they live, deserve access to cancer prevention.

“There is so much more at play than just a transaction between a grower and a consumer. Obviously, there is the supply chain at hand but through organizations like GfH, there is community support, uplifting women, providing health care and education,” said Isabella Vitaliano, Royal’s Lab & QC Specialist who made the trip to Ethiopia.

Thankfully, our photographer Nafkot Gebeyehu was there to capture it all. Through her lens, a deeper story emerges — one of cross-cultural connection, of women coffee farmers, and of what becomes possible when we act together toward a more equitable world.

Read more about their experience on the Royal Coffee blog.

Learn more about their 2026 fundraiser for GfH.