July 2009

Greetings:

We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!! Ours is chugging along. Clara and Colman have been busy with Camps they enjoyed very much.  Now, we will use our Air Miles and visit that friendly country to the South of us. We always enjoy being in Thailand, The Land of Smiles.  With it Low Season and the Tour Business hurt badly by Politics and Swine Flu all the prices are 30% lower than they were last year, so it is a good time to go I suppose.  There is a lot of Swine Flu discussion, but we should be fine!

Coffee &Tea Update:  We sent our second batch of Raw Coffee Beans last week and should be arriving in the USA some time this week.  It was only 44 pounds, but with the Air Freight it is still very pricey.  Thankfully, there is a demand for Coffee and hopefully for the Tea as well.

Don Engstrom at frontierproductions@charter.net  has several roasted blends, so if interested in purchasing or being an Agent please contact him! Of course, you could always buy the Raw Beans and develop your own Roasts.  We are working toward buying the Best Quality Beans possible!

Hopefully, our next purchase in August of a larger batch of say 500~600 pounds of Beans will be of the Highest Quality that can be purchased here in Yunnan. We also want to add 100 pounds of Quality Pu'er Tea and ship them by container to Boston in August. We are and already have been looking into the details of getting this done.  So, all the pieces are coming together.  If this batch continues to sell well, we will go for another larger batch later this Fall.

Brief History of the Coffee Bean in Yunnan: Coffee Plants were introduced in Yunnan by French Jesuit Missionaries. These same Jesuits introduced Wine Making as well. Then during the Liberation the Tea Plantations of Yunnan began growing Beans for the Russians. This all fell to pieces in the 60's & 70's and then revived again in the 80's & 90's, but now just beginning to have quality beans for export.

The Goal of the C&T Project: As mentioned in an earlier letter, the buying of the coffee and tea provides work for those in the remote mountain areas. It also supports servant workers both local Ethnic and Western to work with these isolated people. Hopefully, once this is steady some of the proceeds will go to other projects such as Scholarships, Motorcycles, Food Support and if we can dream, a new Bathroom for a Training Center!

Colman in Korea:  Colman had a great time in South Korea! About 70 or so boys were able to stay on a Military Base. As, one of the Kunming Scout Leader said, "They never had it this nice in Yunnan!" The local Scout Leaders were very proud of the Kunming boys.  They were very diligent working on their badges. Colman, in particular, led the pack with 7 Badges!! He still has to finish his Wilderness Survival and Cooking badges, but should accomplish these in the next couple of months.  If you would like to help support Colman in his Boy Scouts, please consider ordering some popcorn or other products from the web below. One of his friends sold over $500 worth and got a $60 gift certificate from Coleman Camping!

Ordering Boy Scouts Popcorn: 

1. Go to www.orderpopcorn.com

2. Enter my order key  TEWJH7C

3. You should then see Coleman C.   I know it is spelled incorrectly, but most people think of Coleman Stoves and not Colman Mustard!!

4. Start Shopping!

Slogfest at the Border: Another 70 or so young people met at Camp near the Myanmar border. It rained every day, so muddy, muddy, muddy and did I say, "Muddy!" Fortunately all was fun! Clara and Colman and many others mentioned that this was a fun camp and would return!

The second week was a Science Camp. They were able to dissect Rabbits (affectionately named Thumpers) and Pigs. We can send photos of the work! They were not squeamish at all!

Visiting a Leper Community:  Clara and Colman were slated to spend a couple of days at a nearby Leper Community in early August, but it is now on hold.  Hopefully, the logistics and money will be there for the Kunming Youth Group to visit.

Future Tour Possibilities (WWF):  After we return from Thailand, I plan to meet with a local WWF or World Wildlife Fund Representative with the goal of organizing Birding, Wildlife and Flora and Fauna tours in Yunnan.  This again will be in connection with Don Engstrom at frontierproductions@charter.net.

Who knows maybe Colman will be your Tour Guide!! He is well-versed in the Birds, Wildlife and has basic Knowledge of the Flora and Fauna.

We are also considering Coffee & Tea Area tours, Golden Quadrant (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Yunnan) Tour, Spa Tours and of course, if you want the Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Naturally, if folks want to see the Terracotta soldiers and the Great Wall that can be easily arranged!  We have a good Chinese friend who has been in the Tour business for over 10 years, so anything can be arranged. Translators in China, Malaysia and Thailand are available if requested!!

Musings: We have seen the recent economic difficulties as a creative opportunity. Things have been tight, but we continually see the faithfulness of God and His nudging us to explore new possibilities. Would we have considered Coffee, Tea and Tours without the economy going sour?  More importantly, would we have an authentic voice with the struggling poor Chinese, Dai, Lisu and the other ethnics who are subsistence farmers?  Now, we have a Real voice and they actually understand us much more than before.  We are not just "those wealthy Westerners, who have an endless supply of money!"

Thanks for thinking of us!

Doug, Elaine, Clara and Colman Culver