Ephrata grad helps bring clean water to Lao

LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - Dreams can come true. If we work at them. Support from friends and family, and a little luck also go a long way.

Tyson Adams, a 2002 Ephrata High School graduate, is making his dream come true. Nearly six years ago, while traveling on a one-way ticket through Thailand, Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Cambodia and Vietnam, Adams said he had a dream he was importing coffee from Laos to Seattle and providing education resources back to the coffee growing community.

When Adams reached Lao PDR, he said he saw children hooked up to IVs "everywhere." After some online research he quickly realized the need for clean water resources and education in the area.

More than half of the rural Lao PDR had access to an improved water system and only about one-third had access to an improved sanitation facility in 2011, according to a Western Pacific Region Health Databank, referred to by the World Health Organization. Improved water systems include piping, taps for access and protected wells or springs, and improved sanitation facilities include a flushing system, ventilation, containment and/or composting practices.

In Lao PDR Adams said he met and developed a relationship with the Jhai Coffee Farmers Cooperative (JCFC), which is a group of farmers that stand firm on prices for their coffee berries to ensure decent wages. He said the cooperative includes 2,240 families in 68 villages in the Bolaven Plateau, located in the town of Paksong, 40 minutes east of the largest province town, Pakse.

Adams said Jhai Coffee House opened two months ago and is the world's first completely philanthropic coffee roaster and cafe located at the source. He said all profits are invested into clean water projects and sanitation education in the JCFC coffee growing community.

Adams said the coffee house was built with funds raised at an auction in Seattle in June. They raised $20,000 in one night, and another $15,000 was raised online, he said. He said they built the coffee house with local labor in 50 days from a broken down home in the jungle.

The Jhai Tribe, as Adams calls the program's local and international supporters, is currently running another fundraiser. The event, a Holiday Coffee Fundraiser, runs through Friday.

Adams said by buying the specialty beans for the coffee house, and then roasting and brewing there, they will turn a $2 pound of coffee into $200 that will be reinvested into the community. He said the harvest is nearly finished and so time is of the essence. Adams said they do not determine the success of the program by money counts, but by how many people have clean water and sanitation facilities.

For more information, visit www.indiegogo.com and search for Jhai Coffee House.

You can learn more about Adams' efforts at www.jhaicoffeehouse.com.