LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- A Canadian coffee company has partnered with a university in Cordillera.
The memorandum of agreement will be signed Wednesday with Benguet State University (BSU) president Rogelio Colting, inking the five-year deal with the Canadian coffee company.
Rocky Mountain Coffee Company Inc. (RMCC) is pouring over P3.5 million worth of equipment and technology and scholarships to BSU. "It is the first time the company has partnered with a university for coffee," Vagilidad said.
Rocky Mountain Cafe is a Canadian coffee company, which offers coffee services all over the world.
RMCC president Rodrigo Vagilidad Sr. said coffee grown in the region is the best in quality.
"Arabica coffee grows well in higher altitudes," said Vagilidad, adding that the joint venture agreement with the Benguet State University hopes to increase production of the coffee as well as entice more students to study its propagation in the region.
Inspired by the Canadian Rocky Mountain, Rocky Mountain Cafe offers coffee products with full respect of the environment to coffee connoisseurs who look for an authentic coffee experience with no compromise on quality.
A co-branding of the BSU coffee and the RMCC blend will be done in an effort to promote Cordillera blends as one of the best coffees in the world.
In the Philippines, coffee outlets number 64 stores concentrated in the mega Manila areas.
The RMCC blend will be 100 percent organic. "We want to help in the study of coffee, farmers and their children need to have this to know the procedures in making [organic] coffee," Vagilidad explained.
Two MOA's will also be signed Wednesday.
The first, allows RMCC to use the existing BSU coffee processing facility at the Institute of Highland Farming Systems and Agro forestry in Puguis and establish the BSU-RMCC Arabica Processing facility.
The company will renovate the facility and will install state of the art equipment from Canada and the local markets for the production of coffee.
The second will allow RMCC to install a franchise inside the BSU campus aimed at generating profit, which will be used to finance scholarships for students interested in pursuing graduate and undergraduate studies on Arabica coffee production and to create job opportunities for BSU graduates. (Maria Elena Catajan)