WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) – Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. is working to help preserve chimpanzee habitat in Africa.
The coffee maker unveiled a new coffee flavor on Monday called Gombe Reserve.
The company is working with the Jane Goodall Institute, a worldwide nonprofit known for protecting chimpanzees. Jane Goodall is famous for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania.
Gombe Reserve coffee is grown by a cooperative of 2,700 small farmers near Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
Green Mountain Coffee learned about the opportunity to protect chimps and help local farmers when Goodall spoke at a specialty coffee trade group meeting in 2005, said Green Mountain Coffee’s Lindsey Bolger.
By helping the farmers, they won’t encroach on chimp habitat, Bolger said.
“The idea is to create higher income through coffee production so they don’t have to turn to forestry, for example, cutting down native trees to sell for building materials or firewood,” Bolger said.
A 12-ounce bag of Gombe Reserve sells for $17.95 and is only available by mail order or online.
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