1997-1998
In 1997 and 1998, K.C. O'Keefe volunteered to teach at the Annie Soper Peruvian Christian School in the town of Moyobama, located in the Northeastern state of San Martin, Peru. During that time he was struck with the agricultural riches of the region combined with the extreme poverty. He also saw the debilitating situation of the people which was caused by the lack of direct connections to the markets of the world and witnessed the rampant disregard for the environment due to the lack of economic incentives.
During the following months K.C. developed a love for the people and a passion to help them. This was the beginning of Jungle Tech. "Jungle" because of where the products come from, "Tech" because of where the products are to be sent. Simply put, Jungle Tech is designed to link these two worlds together by the direct exportation and importation of quality products.
During this time K.C. learned about the Café Selvanica farmers and decided to visit them. He was attracted to their miraculous story of how God saved them from the persecution of the Shining Path. Before K.C. returned to the United States these farmers asked if he could develop a way to directly import their coffee at a higher price.
1999
K.C. returned home with the ambition of meeting these farmers' request. In the search of developing a sustainable business model he, began to converse with his long-time friend Steven Gunderson. On New Yearıs Eve 1998, Steve and K.C. shook hands and made a commitment to the unknown pursuit of helping the impoverished farmers of Peru. For the next nine months they worked on a business plan, learning all they could about the coffee industry and confirmed the quality of the coffee from independent consultants. K.C. returned to Peru to investigate the possibilities, and during this time developed a vital relationship with Hector Zevallos, Jungle Tech's current Peruvian legal representative.
2000
Jungle Tech signed the first contract with the Café Selvanica farmers on January 5, 2000. Steve and K.C. traveled personally to the jungle village and negotiated with the land-owning growers. The contract ensured that the farmers could continue their traditional farming practices and that the farmers would receive a higher price for their coffee. Jungle Tech's commitment was to provide the farmers the economic incentive to allow them to continue growing gourmet coffee in the most natural way possible.
During the Spring of 2000, Jungle Tech joined the Seattle Audubon Societyıs Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign and started working with them to educate the public on making responsible consumer choices to support Shade Grown Coffee farms. July of the same year, K.C. returned to Peru to evaluate and make the first coffee purchase. The coffee (Pergamino) was then sent on the three-day journey over the Andes Mountains to the dry mill in the capitol city of Lima. There the coffee was processed and prepared for shipment.
In October of 2000, the first container of Café Selvanica arrived in Seattle. At this point, Jungle Tech was facing its next major hurdle: coffee prices had dropped by 50% from the time in which Steve and K.C. made their business plan. They were faced with the challenge of trying to convince roasting companies to pay a premium for the coffee. Coffee roasters appreciated the quality of the coffee, the fair price in which Jungle Tech was offering the farmers, and the support of sustainable farming practices. Three Northwest specialty-roasting companies purchased the 2000 shipment.
2001
In December 2000, Jungle Tech and the Café Selvanica farmers signed the 2001 harvest contract. Even though the international market had once again been cut in half, Jungle Tech honored its commitment to not lower the prices, which were set in 1999.
Although the Selvanica community grew more than one container of coffee, Jungle Tech had to settle for buying only part of the 2000 crop, while the rest was sold on the low-priced local market. To the farmersı delight, the 2001 contract was for two containers, almost all of production.
With the ambition of helping more coffee farmers join this direct link, K.C. O'Keefe resigned from his teaching position in June of 2001 to begin working full-time for Jungle Tech. The additional time paid off, as K.C. was able to gain relationships with several additional coffee-producing communities throughout Peru. The hands-on learning experience has allowed Jungle Tech to gain a new vision of helping many more quality coffee-producing communities throughout Peru.
Café Inkaico, a coffee from selected communities of Cusco, was one of the outgrowths of the June-October 2001 harvest. Visiting several communities and working with a local representative, Jungle Tech was able to export two containers of this exotic coffee in 2001.
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