OLDS COLLEGE MODEL

Model in which to follow

Before we decided to come up with the idea of starting a social entrepreneurial enterprise at Centennial College, we looked for existing examples we could potentially emulate and hopefully follow. 

We approached this endeavour by asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of preliminary research. We read several academic books, articles and journals that spoke highly of the importance of running an entrepreneurial program at the grassroots level.

Still, we needed an example to follow. After an exhaustive search, we happened upon a uniquely Canadian entrepreneurial enterprise created and run by an academic institution called Olds College. 

According to the Canadian Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship at Olds College, since 2011, Olds College has been importing green coffee beans from the Ramirez Coffee Company located at Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. 

The coffee beans are shade-grown by five to ten selected growers using organic methods at an elevation above 2,500 feet (800 metres). The green beans are roasted monthly in Alberta by Coffee Concept in batches of about 1,000 pounds and the College sells ground and whole bean coffee on-line, through retailers, and wholesalers.

Schematic

Benefits

The coffee project at Olds College has been positively received and has achieved tremendous success and has benefited students and consumers alike. For Olds College students, the coffee project signifies a social enterprise where they can learn the intricacies of running a business. For coffee customers, they are able to not only buy a cup of coffee, but they can also serve  a great cause. A total of 90% of the profits from coffee sales go back to support education and training for the coffee farmers and their kids in the Dominican. 

We have learnt that the Olds College model provides a substantial educational value to students which can become a similar educational value at Centennial if the social enterprise is to become a reality.