Houston-based InterAmerican Coffee Inc. wants to help Rwandan coffee farmers harvest a new kind of crop -- timely news and information.

The local importer and distributor of green coffee, the "raw" bean before it's roasted, has donated $10,000 to help fund a pilot project in the African country to provide local coffee growers and farmers access to market information via wind-up radios.

The initiative, facilitated by an overseas nonprofit organization called Lifeline Energy, is the first link in a planned global communication chain among coffee producers, who often live in isolated areas.

Established in 1998, Freeplay is partially funded by a British company that makes products such as flashlights, radios and mobile phone chargers that run off energy sources other than electricity and batteries by using wind-up technology.

Freeplay will use InterAmerican's donation to provide self-powered radios to farmers in remote communities. The idea is to give Rwandan coffee farmers access to timely market information, as well as to provide agricultural and other technical advice. Weather bulletins -- which will help the farmers plan their work schedules -- will also be available through the service.

Landing InterAmerican as the first major corporate donor should help attract other private financial partners to the project, says Michelle Riley, a senior consultant with Lifeline Energy who is based in Savannah, Ga.

Riley says InterAmerican's donation has funded the purchase and distribution of 60 radios in Rwanda, which through a cooperate system are likely to reach up to 6,000 farmers.

"This is our first significant funding," Riley says. "Because InterAmerican stepped up, the first batch of radios have indeed been distributed to farmers, who are so enthralled."

Officials from InterAmerican could not be reached for comment on the company's participation in the initiative.

But Riley says Freeplay plans to ask other coffee companies from around the world to make similar donations that would help further the project.

Indeed, more stability for Rwandan farmers translates into better access to coffee for companies like InterAmerican.

Prices for coffee which is the second-largest worldwide traded commodity behind oil, have hit a five-year high as tight supplies go up against continuing demand.

Coffee talk

Once the project is in full swing, the radios will serve as "information centers," allowing almost 15,000 farmers access to coffee market information broadcast by the National University of Rwanda's Department of Journalism. Using patented wind-up and solar technology, the radios do not require electricity or batteries.

Radio is the primary medium of communication in developing countries, where most people live below the poverty line. Experts estimate that less than 20 percent of the world's population have access to a telephone, while even fewer have a regular supply of electricity, much less television or Internet access. And low literacy levels exclude most people from reading newspapers and other print media.

"For the first time ever in the lives of Rwandan coffee farmers, they are now starting to understand the complex nature of the international coffee market, thanks to the Lifeline radio," Tim Schilling, country director for the Partnership to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages, said in a statement. "InterAmerican Coffee has funded a program that will enable farmers to avoid the traps of the past, where they were lured to sell their coffee at very low prices."

Local specialty coffee retailer Michael Mulloy of the Greater Houston Coffee Association says that, in general, working with African countries can be difficult.

"Because of the political economic instability in Africa, quality is fairly problematic, says Mulloy, who owns House of Coffee Beans Inc. in Rice Village. "For example, Kenya produces incredible coffee, but you have to watch and make sure that what you bid on and agree to buy is in fact what you get when it lands at port."

Still, he applauds InterAmerican's initiative.

"Anything that is done to better the lives of the people who are involved in producing coffee is an incredible thing," he says.

jcolley@bizjournals.com Tel. 713-960-5932