MORE THAN JUST COFFEE
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Rocky Mountain Cares
Rocky Mountain Cafe Inc.
POLICY STATEMENT
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
We in Rocky Mountain Cafe aspire to create a positive impact on
Philippine society and on our host community. As a socially responsible
member of society, we do our share in achieving sustainable
development. In concrete terms, this means contributing to socioeconomic progress through the creation of stable jobs for Filipinos, the
promotion of gender equality and the provision of opportunities and
benefits to women and men, the use of local raw materials and labor
whenever possible, collaboration with the communities in the
promotion of local industries, corporate sponsorship of health,
education and social welfare projects in the upland barangays, and the
promotion of local indigenous culture.
We believe that taking concrete steps to improve the quality of life of
the Filipino people is not just important, it is necessary for a company
like ours whose greatest assets are our people, and whose existence
depends on the community that hosts us.
1
EDUCATION SUPPORT
Ready for School
June is always an exciting month for the Benguet coffee farmers and their
schoolchildren. First of all, with June come the rains, signaling the start of the Arabica
coffee planting season in Tuba and the rest of Benguet Province. Second, June means
the opening of classes for millions of Filipino schoolchildren.
For some boys and girls in Tuba, Benguet, June 2010 was especially memorable
because Rocky Mountain Café lent parents a hand in preparing the kids for the start of
classes. Children of Rocky Mountain Café Benguet Arabica Farmers Cooperative
received schoolbags, notebooks, pencils, paper and other basic school needs in a
simple turnover in Barangay Upper Tadiangan, Tuba municipality.
2
About 40 kids in elementary and secondary school each received the gifts. Their
parents, all members of the cooperative, were as delighted as the young ones.
This activity is part of the School Support Program of Rocky Mountain Café in
collaboration with the RMC Benguet farmer’s cooperative. Other education support
projects identified by the local folks are in the pipeline and will be implemented soon,
such as a scholarship program in Benguet State University.
These support programs and projects are spearheaded by the RMC Benguet Arabica
Farmers Cooperative. Such ventures are intended to help the Ibaloi and Kankanaey
coffee farmers in Benguet help themselves, in line with the goal of Rocky Mountain
Café to be a socially responsible member of the community.
3
One Fine Day for T’boli School Children
The six-year old T’boli children of Tabotong Primary School in Tabotong, Barangay
Nalus, Kiamba Municipality in Sarangani Province had the surprise of their young lives
when a Canadian visitor passed by their one-room school in October 2009. The guest
was accompanied by then Mayor Rommel Falgui and his security escorts. Mr. Pierre
Yves Cote, Rocky Mountain Café President, spoke with their teacher, Mrs. Noemi Sugia
and viewed the premises. Mr. Cote was in Kiamba for the development of the
company’s Arabica plantation in the municipality and wanted to interact with local
residents.
He found out that the students of Tabotong Primary School badly needed books and
school materials. What they had was not even the bare minimum in a primary school
that aims to produce quality students. Ms. Sugia sometimes had to use her own
money for the teaching materials she needed.
4
Believing in making a positive difference in its host communities, Rocky Mountain Café
recognized the dedication and commitment of Ms. Sugia to educate her students. RMC
complemented her efforts by sending from Manila to Kiamba two boxes of books and
various school materials for grade one students. These included story books for
children, notebooks, paper, pencils, art paper, cartolina, and crayons. The school even
requested toothbrush and toothpaste for the 6-year olds, which each of the students
received.
November 17 was a happy day when Mayor Falgui brought the boxes of school
materials from Rocky Mountain Cafe to Tabotong Primary School. Ms. Sugia thanked
the mayor and Rocky Mountain Café, adding, “The children look forward to the next
visit of RMC to personally say thank you.”
5
HEALTH PROMOTION
Free medical consultation held for RMC Benguet
Cooperative members and their families
For many of the Ibaloi families who attended the RMC Benguet Arabica Farmers
Cooperative medical mission, it was their first time in years to see a doctor. On
October 2, 2010, about a hundred men, women, and children trooped to the
Barangay Yagyagan Multi-purpose Hall in Yagyagan, Tuba to have their medical
check-up, at no cost to them. The free medical consultation, led by a doctor, a
nurse, a paramedic, and a barangay health worker, is one of the many benefits of
being a member of the RMC Benguet Arabica Farmers Cooperative.
6
The coop members had their blood pressure checked and weight and pulse taken.
More importantly, those who had health complaints or who felt certain symptoms had
the opportunity to consult a doctor and to receive treatment. They went home
relieved and more aware of how to manage their health. Free essential medicines
were provided in the medical mission, a critical component of the check-up because
the families normally cannot afford the drugs.
Free regular medical check-ups are planned for the coop members throughout the
year. This activity is a component of the health improvement program of the
cooperative.
7
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
Rising from the ruins in Benguet
Typhoon Pepeng (international code name: Parma) is, by far, the most destructive
typhoon to hit Benguet Province. On October 10, 2009, the rains brought by the
slow-moving typhoon loosened the mountain soil and caused massive landslides,
burying houses and families in the province, and destroying roads and bridges.
The typhoon did not spare the coffee farms of Tuba residents. Among the most
affected was Glorie Barrientos, 46, of Sitio Cashit, Barangay Yagyagan, Tuba
Municipality. More than 1,000 Arabica coffee trees planted in the backyard farms of
Glorie and her two siblings were washed down in a landslide at the height of the
typhoon. “The coffee berries were ready to be harvested,” Glorie laments. The
farmers could not recover the berries or the trees.
The landslide in Sitio Cashit loosened the soil and washed away bearing coffee trees.
8
Glorie Barrientos at home with her daughter.
Eugene Bilaw, Operations Manager of RMC, handing over the Arabica seedlings to
Glorie to rehabilitate her and her siblings’ backyard coffee farms in Sitio Cashit,
Barangay Yagyagan.
Rocky Mountain Café responded to Glorie’s request to rehabilitate her coffee farm.
The company gave her 220 Arabica seedlings, which she has already planted. Rocky
Mountain also gave her sisters additional seedlings for free so that they, too, can
rebuild their farm and their source of livelihood.
Glorie sees hope for recovery for her and her four children, aged 11 to 21 years old.
Although supported financially by her husband, a mechanic working in Saudi Arabia,
she has to manage home and hearth by herself.
On November 28, Glorie joined her neighbors and relatives in Yagyagan in the first
organizational meeting of the RMC Benguet Arabica Farmers Cooperative. Gloria was
eventually elected by the general assembly to the Board of Directors. She joins the
other directors in creating strategies to achieve the RMC cooperative goal of
developing sustainable socio-economic programs for the Arabica farmer community.
9
FARMERS TRAINING
Thirty-five men and women Ibaloi farmers, all members of the RMC Benguet Arabica
Coffee Farmers Cooperative,received a training on “Arabica Coffee Production Under
Agroforestry Systems in the Cordilleras.” The activity, held on October 29, 2010 at the
RMC-BSU Training Center in Bektey, La Trinidad, is the first of a series of technical
training modules planned by RMACC and the cooperative for the yield improvement
program of the cooperative farmers. The objective of the program is to provide
training to the farmers on Arabica coffee production and processing in the Cordillera
Region, eventually increasing both the quantity and quality of the coffee they
produce.
10
Prof. Valentino Macanes, Benguet State University
Tuba Coffee Farmers
Prof. Val Macanes, Director of the Institute of Highland Farming Systems and
Agroforestry of Benguet State University, was the resource person and trainer. Part
one of the training consisted of discussions on seed selection, seed preparation,
nursery establishment, field planting and maintenance, common pests and diseases of
Arabica coffee and their management, harvesting, postharvest processing, and coffee
tree rejuvenation. The second part of the module was a demonstration of the
techniques learned at the RMC-BSU Bektey plantation.
Rocky Mountain Cafe partners with Benguet State University (for Luzon) and Xavier
University (for Mindanao) to provide technical training to indigenous coffee farmers
on the best practices in Arabica production and processing.
11
GENDER EQUALITY
Women take care of our coffee. We take care of our women.
Rocky Mountain Cafe believes in the equitable sharing of benefits from an equal
opportunities work environment. All Rocky Mountain employees and partners,
regardless of sex, are offered technical training and other opportunities for personal
and professional development.
The key positions of General Manager, Executive Assistant, and
Business Development Officer are occupied by women.
Women work alongside the men in our farms and workplaces, often occupying
leadership and decision-making positions. Even the RMC farmer cooperatives are led
by women officers. In our central office, women managers chart the direction of the
firm.
Key positions in the Accounting Department are occupied by women.
12
It is the policy of Rocky Mountain to provide employment and livelihood opportunities
to women coffee farmers, regardless of their age, marital status, ethnic identity, or
physical disability.
The cultivation of coffee in thousands of backyard farms in the Philippines has always
been done by women. Recognizing the importance and participation of women in the
coffee industry, Rocky Mountain integrates and promotes gender equality in its
plantations, its coffee mills, and its distribution activities.
13
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee Company organizes a coffee farmer’s cooperative in
each of the plantations it develops in the Philippines.
These cooperatives are
established to enable the members to increase the quantity and quality of the Arabica
coffee produced in their farms and to partner with a reliable buyer of their produce.
The cooperatives provide a venue for unifying the farmers’ efforts to uplift their socioeconomic conditions through social development programs as well as incomegenerating projects. These programs and projects ultimately contribute to the
financial independence and sustainability of the organization.
14
All corporate social responsibility activities of Rocky Mountain are implemented
through the cooperatives as partners. The community members are involved in the
planning and implementation of health, education, technical training, livelihood and
other socio-economic programs and projects.
Members are given organizational development seminars and exposure to best
practices in coffee production and processing by a cooperative.
The farmers
determine how the cooperative operates and decide which policies and actions yield
the maximum benefits for everyone.
Rocky Mountain collaborates with the National Confederation of Cooperatives
(NATCCO) to implement capacity building programs for RMC Cooperatives and
finance the development of coffee mills nationwide to empower coffee farmers.
15
PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE
The upland indigenous peoples of the Philippines are our partners in producing
world-class Arabica coffee. We are proud to work with the Ibalois and
Kankanaeys of Benguet, the T’bolis of Sarangani and Cotabato, the Higaonons,
Bukidnons, and Talaandigs of Bukidnon, and the Mandaya and Mansaka of the
Davao Region.
16
Rocky Mountain recognizes that the lives of the indigenous peoples are closely linked
to their land. We manifest our profound respect for the indigenous cultural
communities and their natural heritage by ensuring that our operations do not
degrade the land and its precious resources.
Rocky Mountain respects indigenous farming practices and at the same time
integrates new farming technologies that make the lives of the men and women
coffee farmers easier. The company upholds the heritage and traditions of the tribes
in all its operations in the Philippines. We use indigenous architecture in the design of
our plantation offices and mills. We adopt ethnic patterns and style in our farmers’
uniform. We use indigenous materials, such as abaca for our coffee harvest baskets
and sinamay and buri for the packaging of our finished products.
We are honoured to promote worldwide Philippine Arabica coffee and the unique
culture of each Philippine indigenous community that produces it. The identity of
Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee Company is enriched by the Philippine indigenous
peoples who nurture our coffee.
17
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Rocky Mountain supports character development through sports and adventure
activities that build self-confidence, leadership, respect, and friendly competition.
Rocky Mountain sponsors the Rocky Mountain Café Ice Hockey Team, which is a
leading member of the Manila Ice Hockey League (MIHL), based in the SM Mall of Asia.
The RMC Ice Hockey League is the defending champion in this year’s games.
Rocky Mountain also upholds adventure sports such as mountain climbing. The
company is a sponsor of “A December to Remember”, an annual organized climb of
Mount Pulag, the highest peak in Luzon. We are proud to sponsor with the
Municipality of Kabayan in Benguet such a highly anticipated activity that draws
climbers, young and old, men and women, beginners and advanced, from all over the
Philippines and Asia.
18
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILTY
Being responsible to society and to the environment is part of the corporate culture of
Rocky Mountain Café Inc., elevating this important function to the highest
policymaking body, the Board of Directors, by appointing a Director for Corporate
Responsibility. The Director ensures the integration of social and environmental
responsibilities and accountability in the policies and activities of the firm and
exercises broad decision-making powers that influence the corporate direction of
Rocky Mountain, its priorities, and the allocation of resources.
The officers and managers of Rocky Mountain Café are guided by an overall corporate
responsibility framework that is reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors and
implemented by its managers and personnel.
Carmeli Chaves , RMC Director for Corporate Responsibility, with His Excellency Peter
Sutherland, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, after receiving a Gold Pin for her
lifetime achievements in promoting environment protection and corporate
responsibility in the Philippines.
19
NATIONWIDE BENEFITS
Mountain Province
Ifugao
Bektey
Camp John Hay
Tuba
Atok
Mindoro
Negros
Bukidnon
Cotabato
Davao
Sarangani
20
Rocky Mountain Cares
Yvan Masse, a shareholder of RMC, is assisted by Nelly Bulahao, an Ibaloi farmer,
in planting an Arabica coffee tree.
Rocky Mountain Cafe Inc.
Suite 306, Prestige Tower
Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center,
Pasig City 1605, Philippines
Tel.: +63 2 638-3768 • Fax: +63 2 638-3840
Website: www.rmacc.ph