HOW AKOS WORKS FOR OUR FARMERS
Over the past three years
since the inception of Akos, myself and my good friend and fellow co founder, John, have been able to personally visit Cambodia a handful of times.
As you most likely know, Akos is created by fermenting palm sap sourced naturally from Cambodia. While the process of going tree to can is a great story and hailed as innovative what I’d like to share with you today is some background on the people who make this whole operation possible.
The Farmers on the other side of the planet who we are lucky to work with.
Nim Kouem and his wife Kan have been working with Akos since the beginning. The first time I met both of them I took this picture of them after a typical, but long day of palm tapping.
Nim starts his day, as does his neighbor Sao and the rest of the village around 4:30am, and by day break he’s 60 feet up in a Cambodian Palm.
Around 6:15am Kan Koeum will have enough collected sap to start the fire for the village’s collection processor.
Nim and Kan, like the rest of their village are predominately rice farmers who palm tap to earn extra money for one singular reason.
They want an education for their children.
The whole village, every single farmer we talked to, wants an education for their children.
This was a realization and an opportunity for John, myself and Akos to step up to the plate.
While the money we use to purchase the villages palm sap goes through a co-op and all the farmers receive a well above fair price for their hard work, we were still unable to just call that "good enough”.
Akos now uses a portion of our profits to reinvest into the palm tapping community. We do this in the form of an education fund we created for the children of these families, many of who either myself or John have met in person over the years.
This education fund, while still small, is already at work. With children from the village like Kan’s son, Nim, being able to start 5th grade at Secondary School of Wat Phnom, and others like Roum, by funding her freshman year at Norton University.
Akos is a truly unique product as it cannot exist without directly contributing to improving the quality of life for these farmers and providing their children an education all while also halting deforestation.
This is why the can of fermented palm sap in your hand is so important. It's a way to improve the lives of others and protect the planet that isn't contingent on a "companies promise". It just happens, plain and simple. Collecting palm sap to sell to Akos is the missing puzzle piece that can finally secure a future for the families of these farmers and their rainforest.
Going into 2023 I’m excited to see Akos continue to grow and expand for many reasons.
It’s a great product. I’m passionate about getting it to those who love it and of course it’s also a brand I take pride in.
However being able to tell the stories of these Farmers and secure a win for them and their children, that’s what I’m all about.
- Mike Kostin | Akos, co founder
