NPO Seibo partners with schools across Japan to provide extracurricular learning opportunities centered on coffee that supports children in Malawi. Through this program, students study charity-based marketing and sales, and then put their learning into practice through real sales activities.

You can view examples of these initiatives here.

One of our partner schools, Salesian International School in Akabane, Kita-ku, Tokyo, used their summer vacation to visit an actual coffee roasting shop. The students kindly shared a report of their experience, which we are pleased to introduce below.

Salesian International School Junior & Senior High School – Craft Club

At the Salesian International School Junior & Senior High School Craft Club, we sell coffee during our Christmas Charity event. During one of these activities, Mr. Yamada, the manager of Warm Hearts Coffee Club, told us:

“You can gain knowledge that will enhance your future coffee sales. By observing the roasting process firsthand, your approach to customers may change.”

He invited us to visit the Live Coffee Tsukishima Roastery.

We also felt that, rather than simply selling coffee, it would be much easier to recommend the product to customers if we had a deeper understanding of both coffee itself and the current situation facing children in Malawi. With this in mind, we visited the Live Coffee Tsukishima Roastery on December 22, 2022.

(Listening to the “first crack” of the beans and observing the deepening roast)

Salesian International School, a Catholic school, was the first Catholic institution to visit the Live Coffee Tsukishima Roastery. Until this visit, we had only received drip packs filled with ground coffee. Therefore, witnessing the roasting process firsthand—such as observing the gradual change in the color of the coffee beans—was a fascinating and valuable experience for us as students.

This visit also helped us realize that our sales activities are supported by many different processes and the efforts of numerous people. Moving forward, we would like to continue our sales activities with a sense of responsibility as coffee sellers of the Salesian International School Craft Club, always keeping in mind the dedication of those involved behind the scenes.

Before and after visiting the Live Coffee Tsukishima Roastery, our perspective changed significantly. By learning more about the situation of children in Malawi and understanding that school meal support for children in Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sustained through the cooperation of many people, we became better equipped to clearly explain this initiative to customers who purchase our coffee.