OUR STORY
Djende I · Haut-Nyong · Cameroon → Canada
Our Story
From heritage to integrity · From origin to cup
DJENDE was born from a personal search: the desire to rediscover the authentic flavours of childhood while honouring the people whose work makes those flavours possible.
For us, quality does not begin at packaging. It begins at origin.
The coffee plants behind grandfather's house
"Some memories never fade. For me, it is the image of the coffee and cocoa plants behind my grandfather's house in Djende I. We were so young — but Alphonse was already teaching us. He showed us how to clean the plants, how to pick the coffee cherries into the basket, how to avoid wasting a single one. Every gesture had meaning. Every bean counted."
When harvest time came, he had built a vast dedicated drying and sorting area he had designed himself. That was where we all loved to gather — sorting cherries while he told us stories from Africa. The forest around us. The sun on the red beans. His voice.
Alphonse was not just a farmer. He was the builder of Djende I. He chose to move closer to his fields — away from the main road — to develop large plantations and work the land with greater proximity and care. He was one of the greatest farmers in the commune of Doumaintang. He farmed to feed his family, yes. But above all so that each of his children could go to school.
A widely respected agricultural figure in the Djende region. Known for his deep connection to the land, his discipline, and his commitment to farming — and to educating every one of his children. His legacy shapes the spirit of DJENDE today: respect for origin, respect for labour, respect for what the earth provides.
She believed dignity is built through education, support, and opportunity. She contributed to building Djende's public school, paid the fees of more than 200 children every year, donated school materials, and helped parents pay volunteer teachers while the government delayed. She believed every girl deserved school as much as every boy.
What Elisette built
The nearest school was around 10 km from the village. Many children went to live with relatives in other villages just to access a classroom. Others simply gave up. Elisette decided this could not continue.
She contributed to building Djende's public school through donations in kind and administrative efforts. She paid the school fees of more than 200 children every year. She donated chalk, slates, books, and uniforms. She helped parents pay volunteer teachers who taught classes while the government failed to assign permanent staff.
"She considered herself lucky to have had access to education in an era when schooling girls was seen as pointless. And she had decided she would share that luck."
— In memory of ElisetteMay 2022 — when grief becomes responsibility
In May 2022, Elisette leaves us. For us, it is sorrow. For the hundreds of children of Djende, it is a catastrophe. Many can no longer afford to attend school. Volunteer teachers, whose salaries had not been paid for months, leave. The future of hundreds of children darkens in a matter of weeks.
As Elisette's eldest, I receive the grievances and pleas of Djende's farmers. In 2022 and 2023, my brothers and I contribute from our own pockets to continue her work. But I quickly realise that, having immigrated to Canada in 2023, I cannot sustain this model. Personal charity has its limits. And the children of Djende cannot depend on my pocket.
Something larger is needed. Something that works even after I am gone. Something that will not one day become a burden for my own children.
The birth of DJENDE: a system, not a handout
This is how the DJENDE project was born. Not a charity. Not occasional aid. But an economic model built to make Djende's farmers autonomous — so that their work is fairly paid, so that their coffee and cocoa reach markets that recognise them.
We work directly with GICs (Common Initiative Groups) and farming families from Djende and elsewhere in Africa — without exploitative middlemen, at fair prices. A portion of my profits from every sale goes to the education of partner farmers' children. And the Miambe-Elisette Foundation is being structured to frame these actions in a lasting, systemic and transmissible way.
As a woman, I feel this issue even more personally. If my mother had not been educated, I would probably have been one more victim of this system — one more girl whose future would have been decided before she had the chance to decide for herself. This reality is not abstract to me. It is personal. And that is precisely why DJENDE cannot be merely a commercial project.
"DJENDE was born from taste and from responsibility. And from a refusal to let the future of these children depend on a coffee price set by a market they cannot control."
— Founder of DJENDEA bridge between terroirs
As the vision expanded, so did the range of products we carefully select. Today, DJENDE sources not only specialty coffee, but also teas, infusions, honey, spices, and natural ingredients through trusted GICs and cooperatives in Africa and passionate producers in Canada.
Our sourcing philosophy is guided by the same standard across every category: authenticity, traceability, quality, and respect for the people behind the product.
What you carry in your cup
Direct sourcing at Djende I — the same lands he farmed, honoured with care and precision.
A portion of profits from every sale goes directly to the education of partner farmers' children.
You know exactly where your coffee comes from — Doumaintang commune, Haut-Nyong, Eastern Cameroon.
GICs and farming families paid what their work is truly worth — not at the price of a market that ignores them.
Processed and packaged in Canada to Canadian standards — freshness, consistency, excellence.
Being structured to sustain these actions long after us — for Djende's farmers and their children.
Crafted in Canada
To ensure freshness, consistency, and quality, the final stage of our work takes place in Canada. Our ingredients are carefully transformed, blended, roasted, and packaged here — to Canadian standards, with the same discipline Alphonse applied to his harvests.
This Canadian step is not separate from origin. It is part of the promise.
The Miambe-Elisette Foundation
In structuring — to support the farmers of Djende and their children in a lasting, systemic and transmissible way. Because what Alphonse and Elisette built deserves to continue.
The soul of DJENDE
The reminder that true quality is cultivated with patience, discipline, and respect for the land.
The reminder that growth must also create dignity, opportunity, and continuity for those who produce it.
"A brand rooted in heritage, shaped by integrity, and committed to building something meaningful from origin to cup."
DJENDE — From our lands to your cup
Taste the story in every cup
Specialty coffee, teas and infusions — directly sourced, carefully crafted in Canada.
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