Case: Slow Forrest Coffee - Regenerative Coffee

You've probably noticed the term "regenerative" popping up everywhere. It's the latest buzzword in sustainability, with companies eagerly using it in their marketing.

But here's the question: How many truly understand what it means—or better yet, what it actually takes?

In this post, we'll dive into one possible indicator to help you spot whether a business is genuinely regenerative or just riding the PR wave.

Look at Where the Work Happens

Here's a simple test: Where are the workers based? Are they in plush offices, far removed from the actual work, or are they where the magic is happening?

Take Slow Coffee, a Danish company deeply committed to regenerative farming in Laos and Vietnam. 

Unlike many businesses, 90% of their 220-person team is on the ground in the Global South, working side by side with smallholder farmers.

Why? Because they understand that you can't support regenerative agriculture from a distance. 

Their teams provide direct on-the-ground support—training farmers, supplying tree seedlings, offering advance payments, and even emergency funds when disaster strikes. 

The goal is to assist smallholder farmers in reducing risk and improving their livelihoods.

• A Living Wage is a Non-Negotiable

A crucial part is ensuring that the farmers earn a fair living. Slow Coffee goes beyond minimum wages (because that's often lower than a living wage), committing to paying a living wage to every worker on their farms. 

Regenerating nature shouldn't come at the expense of the people who are the very backbone of the process. That wouldn't be right. 

Regenerative practices require more energy, have higher costs, and involve greater risks, but that's the price of lasting, meaningful change.

• Regeneration Can't Be a Burden on the Global South

Regeneration isn't just about the land—it's about people, especially those in the Global South who are often at the forefront of these efforts. 

Slow Coffee understands that to be a regenerative business, you must invest in the communities most impacted. First, it's the right thing to do. Second, it builds for a stable and resilient value chain.

So the next time you see a company boasting about being "regenerative," ask yourself: Where is the work happening, and who's benefitting from it?