Hi, my name is Rance Paxton.  I’m a graduate student in the college of agriculture.  I heard about this study abroad course from a classmate that took it last year.

I’m most interested in learning about the coffee supply chain.  As of now, I’m only a consumer of coffee and know little else about the drink I consume daily.  I can’t identify a coffee plant, or any other parts of the process before it is roasted and packaged for my purchase.  My first introduction to Costa Rican coffee came last semester during a marketing course which discussed a case study of Thrive Coffee. Thrive is co-founded by UGA alumni Ken Lander in 2010, who was hobby farming coffee for a few years in Costa Rica.  The case highlighted the redesign of the supply chain of Costa Rica’s coffee to improve the profits for coffee farmers.  It’s my understanding that this is an issue most farmers experience in all markets.  I’m excited to meet Ken and hear his experience as an entrepreneur.  I would like to learn about their new supply chain and if it would be applicable for farmers with other crops.