Sectors
Coffee
When the International Coffee Organization advertised for a coffee enthusiast fluent in three out of its four official languages, I knew I could do the languages but the coffee enthusiasm would come later. Four years later and I am now a regular at industry events such as London Coffee Festival or World of Coffee and can be found busily translating at any one of a number of London speciality coffee shops.
The highlight of my coffee career came when I organised the World Coffee Conference in Ethiopia which was attended by over 900 participants including Ministers, Ambassadors, and high-level dignitaries from across the world, together with representatives from throughout the supply chain.
I now offer my services as a specialist translator for the coffee industry. I recently translated two press releases for The National Coffee Association of Guatemala (Anacafé) about the impact of the Fuego volcano eruption on the country’s coffee production.
Sustainability
Sustainability is such a broad, complex subject that I find really interesting. In trying to make processes more sustainable a host of issues have to be considered and this is especially true for small-holder agriculture in less developed countries.
For example, key amongst the many topics to address in order to make coffee production sustainable is farmer income, the impact on the environment and gender equity. In other words, to borrow a phrase from the Committee on Sustainability Assessment, we need to #SEESustainability (SEE standing for Social, Economic and Environmental).
My first opportunity to meet some of the key players in the sustainability sphere was at the Global Landscapes Forum which took place in Paris prior to the COP21. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a place on their social reporting bootcamp which gave me not only valuable training into social media best practices but also the opportunity to publish a blog post about sustainable supply chains on their platform.
Having attended the sustainability forum at the World of Coffee in Dublin in 2016, I’m looking forward to attending it again this year as part of the 2018 World of Coffee, this time in Amsterdam.
International Development
My interest in international development stems from a deep-rooted desire to use my language skills to help connect people in developing countries to those in the more developed nations who may be able to offer practical expertise.
To this end, I have interpreted and/or translated for a variety of international NGOs such as Amnesty International, Caux Initiatives of Change, Emmaüs International and Médecins du Monde.
My most memorable interpreting experience is the three weeks I spent in Rwanda interpreting for Farmers’ Dialogue. The international meeting brought together small-holder farmers from across the world to discuss the challenges inherent to developing agriculture, combatting malnutrition and poverty, and improving conditions for small-scale farmers.
I have spent time living, working or attending conferences in several developing countries but not nearly enough! My current list is Costa Rica (one year), Peru (3 months), Morocco (3 months), French Antilles, Ethiopia, Rwanda and I’m hoping to add Colombia in the near future. Check out my Flickr account for some pictures.