Poverty is a way of life for the coffee farmers and their communities in Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in the world. 90% of the population earns a living through agriculture supplying 49% of the economy and exports of the country.

Living on and farming an average of 1 to 3 acres with a yearly income of approximately $130 to $230 provides the coffee farmers with minimal resources to care for and improve the farm or for health care and the education of their children.

"We got very good money because of our sales through the Mt. Meru Coffee Project, this project gives justice to our people who have been downtrodden by middlemen" says Pastor Elias Kitoi, who has a small coffee farm to support his pastoral work.

Coffee is the farmers' primary cash crop. Sales of coffee through the project provide a just income, an income needed to maintain and improve crops, and provide the necessities for their family and children. Pastor Kitoi states, "The farmers consider this a life-giving, hope-filled project, providing folks at the grass root level with liberating abilities in a very poor economy".