Macenta in West Africa is one of the birthplaces of coffee. Now, after decades of exploitation and ecological neglect, a small startup based in Berlin and Guinea is mobilising the region’s independent farmers and building a new sustainable economy around the core crop: coffee.

Off the back of a successful 2020 crowdfunding campaign, to which I contributed narrative direction and scripts, Macenta Beans secured partnerships with upmarket European roasters such as Coffee Circle, delivering key intrastructure projects, raising standards and shaking up the value chain.

A funding application I worked on with director Sorina Gajewski and producer Milena Krmek was awarded 35,000 EUR by the German federal ministry of culture (BKM) in 2022. The resulting documentary, ‘First Taste’ (30 minutes) will be at film festivals in 2024.