JOHANNA ALAZAR

ERITREA, 26

Project: Finjal
Pronouns: She/Her

Johanna is fiercely passionate about creating spaces to ensure that people from the Horn of Africa are not forgotten in the climate discourse. Partnering with farmers to create sustainable coffee, she’s the Co-Founder and CEO of Finjal, a fusion coffee project that roasts coffee and reinvests the profits into water conservation in the Horn of Africa. 

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How does Finjal explicitly address systemic inequity and injustice? 

Coffee production has a long legacy intertwined with colonialism and slavery, and through our work, by actively centering the farmer we push back against brutal land-grabbing and other injustices carried out in my region. One of the ways we address the issue of equity in the Horn of Africa is through a partnership with farmers. Coffee production is valued at over $465.9 billion, around 5% stays with the farmers. Through our project, we make sure that the poverty traps and seeds of colonialism in coffee end with us.

“My priority in this life is to ensure that the rights of my people are being protected.”
Evan Wei-Haas