3 years ago, Liga Masiva was born. Today, we move on to new ways of pursuing our mission.
We set out to create a global farmers' market. We worked fanatically to connect organic farmers in Latin America with folks here in the US... giving farmers a fairer shake and creating a vibrant experience of connection and community. It's been a phenomenal 3 years: best-in-the-world team and partners, revolutionary change with our farmer community, and slamdunks on many of the things that make a company great.
But we couldn't get all the pieces to come together in exactly the way we imagined. There were challenges with sales, bumps in the road with funding, dwindling energy on the team, and other missteps and moments of bad luck. So much was going right. But there was enough not coming together that we decided to wrap up our work with Liga Masiva, shake hands with our friends and partners, pull together our learnings, and step into new projects to pursue this mission of connection, changing food, and "doing better together."
We are honored that people have expressed interest in buying the company (one was even a customer of ours!) but we decided to bring things to a close while we were still creating a great customer experience, fantastic partner relationships, and huge social impact. We could have continued... but we decided it wasn't the best thing for the people we serve.
Keep scrolling for more of our thoughts, or click here to visit the old site.
Liga Masiva as a tool for building new connections in the food system, for increasing farmer incomes in an immediate and sustainable way, for providing a source of capital and information to the farmers that deserve it is kicking butt. We've done things with trade and farmers that are completely unprecedented and have the potential for influencing a lot of other great work as well as laying the groundwork for more of our own.
The nitty-gritty: The price-per-pound of coffee we've been paying the farmers we worked with in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic is 200% what they could have earned via conventional trade of their organic coffee over the past 10 years. We were also able to decrease farmer expenses via our Farmer Socios loan program. An interest rate of 10% means a really significant drop, as their previous credit sources were at effective interest rates of 30-50%. All of the farmer loans have been paid back in full. Finally, farmers access to information went way up thanks to workshops we've conducted with them on everything from coffee quality/cupping to farm practices and machine maintenance.
Liga Masiva is struggling to achieve the rapid pace of growth needed to support low profit margins and continual innovation. The coffee business is at breakeven (which is great, because that means it's somewhat sustainable) but it's not operating at a scale that allows us to continue experimenting with ways to create the impact we've dreamed of.
When we launched our Liga Box last winter, we sold enough to make the project break even but about 1/3 the number we hoped to sell. Additionally, we all sensed that sales numbers aside, the Liga Box just wasn't received with the energy and understanding that we wanted or expected.
Ultimately, we failed to build a strong enough consumer community around this mission and failed to create a product that was so remarkable that it would spread ... at a scale necessary to support such an ambitious project.
In failure (and success!), there are many lessons for us changemakers. Significant headwinds exist with how our current food system operates. Many costs associated with the foods we consume are borne outside the price we pay--whether by the environment in which they grow or the farmers who nurture them.
I'm proud of all the ways we succeeded.... and of our failures as evidence of our boldness. I'm proudest that we created a company that didn't compromise its mission, that was driven by the needs of our stakeholders, and fueled by laughter, honesty, gorgeous design, audacious ideas, and real friendships. I'm going to miss a constant supply of delicious coffee beans. Mostly, I'm going to miss collaborating with the most amazing people on a daily basis. Although, that part, I don't have to miss -- because the company is closing for business, but the relationships are not.
I am constantly in awe of the support we have received from all of our inspired colleagues, dedicated partners, audacious farmers, my talented teammates, and passionate customers. This project has changed the way I think about food, development, trade, and creating change itself. While this chapter closes bittersweetly, it's provided direction for where change is needed most. Thank you for being a member of this incredible journey ... it's been a pleasure.
Building markets, connections and consciousness with such an amazing array of people has nurtured my commitment to building more just, connective, and real relationships. I am proud and inspired by the shared experiences and meaningful work with our farmers in the DR and our customers all over the US. I am saddened by Liga's end, but grateful to continue to share in a global community that wants direct, just, and delicious connections (and coffee).
More than ever before we're learning how our personal decisions have an effect on the world at large, and making those effects understood is a critical part of addressing the challenges we face as a society. I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done as a team, and though we weren't able to profit as an organization I hope the community we've built continues to build a more human, connected economy. Our business may be ending, but our work is just beginning!
In the future, if you want phenomenal, ethical coffee, Brooklyn Roasting Company are your guys in New York City and Stumptown's Direct Trade offerings are where we suggest going on the web.
Hilary and Emily are working hard to transition this coffee (and, eventually, the relationships) to amazing, ethical, great people and companies... and so far, people are interested. Looks like it's going to be just fine and that we'll be able to do this in a way that everyone (but especially the farmers) wins.
I think you'll agree when we say that there is more potential than ever for us to continue to pursue this mission of changing the way people "do" trade. Liga Masiva is a pretty kickass shot at pursuing this mission, but I hope and trust that each of us as individuals will see that Liga Masiva is only one way of pursuing the mission... and that we can and should continue pursuing these things, whether or not that's within Liga.
Most of all...
Next for Emily is to keep working with brilliant people to build beautiful things for the world. You can find her at emilykerr.me, @emilykerr, and kerr.emily@gmail.com
Amy is continuing to explore the intersection of food systems, sustainability, and international development. You can reach her at aosekowsky@gmail.com or @amyosekowsky.
Hilary is continuing to build direct trade networks and connections through her PhD dissertation, working with maize farmers in Mexico, and through work at farms and food-based organizations in her neighborhood.
Danny is now a Global Fellow at IDEO.org and a partner at Who Gives A Crap. Find him at dannyalexander.me, @dalexdalex, and danny@dannyalexander.me