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Home » Interviews » Episode 13: Umesh Bhuju

Umesh Bhuju’s exposure to child labor as a young person in Nepal inspired his current investment in fair trade practices. His coffee shop ensures that their products come from well-paid farmers using environmentally sustainable practices. Listen to discover how Bhuju is combating food insecurity during the pandemic even as his business faces challenges. We also have a full-length video interview here.

Transcript

Denzil Mohammed: I’m Denzil Mohammed and this is JobMakers.

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Recent headlines show big business taking a stand on social and political issues. From Macy’s pulling Donald Trump clothing line after his 2015 comments about Mexican immigrants to Coca-Cola rallying up against Georgia restrictive voting law. But what if taking a stand is the basis for your business model? How does that play in the profit-driven world of American business? For Umesh Bhuju, who early on witnessed child labor in his homeland of Nepal, his American dream was inextricably tied to making the world a better place. So he created a business plan that was mission-driven: open a coffeehouse that sold nothing but fair trade products. In so doing, he’d be not only educating Americans about just how far their dollar can go, paying farmers respectable wages, reducing environmental impact, uplifting developing economies, but also showing that businesses can be a real part of social progress. How has that worked out for him? Zumi’s Coffee House is a nearly 20 year institution on the north shore of Massachusetts. And Umesh has taken his activism to fighting for the rights of immigrants, preserving local habitats and combating food insecurity during the pandemic, even as his own business battled the downturn, as we’ll find out in this week’s JobMakers podcast.

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Umesh Bhuju tell us a little bit about Zumi’s in Ipswich, your business?

Umesh Bhuju: Zumi’s was established in 2003 with the idea of, you know, helping in a community with the organic and fair trade coffee, providing organic and fair trade coffee. And since then, you know, we expanded the space and we have actually added a few more items that, you know, not only coffee but some other organic food that you know people can grab for their snacks and stuff like that.

Denzil Mohammed: Why organic and fair trade?

Umesh Bhuju: Organic, you know, we wanted to have the people consuming the right type of food and a coffee that won’t hurt, that won’t hamper their health in their lifetime. Organic coffee doesn’t mean that, you know, you would have to pay more. So it’s not really big of difference as far as price concern. So we thought we would stay with the organic coffee instead of, you know, not organic coffee. On top of that, you know, we have fair trade and fair labor practice coffee, which is basically, we call them fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee is basically helping the coffee growers that, you know, we would pay the right price for your product as well as, you know, we would participate in your local projects that would require you to stay healthy. Yeah, such as like a health, such as like a water, school buildings and you know making sure the kids, underage kids won’t work and do forced labor.

Denzil Mohammed: And why is that important to you and how do you go about educating your customers about this?

Umesh Bhuju: I grew up in a country that, you know, where I have seen a massive amount of young kids working in a field and some of those kids were my friends when I was growing up. And I didn’t want to see that happening around the world that, you know, where we source our coffee. So forced labor was not like something that I believe or we believe and so and also children that you know we believe in their education and their health so because of that so when we put together our plan and our mission to establish Zumi’s, we said that we would not practice anything but fair trade.

Denzil Mohammed: And how have your customers received this notion of being responsible in their purchases and helping people who are half a world away?

Umesh Bhuju: Well, you know, at the beginning it wasn’t that easy, that was 17, almost 18 years ago when we started. It was not easy, but I think since then, you know, after years of practicing and advocating about the fair trade and organic coffee, I think they got it. We believe that they have been getting it and also recently you know past few years it’s been a big thing about, you know, the environment and also climate change. So it’s a big factor, you know, when people consume, you know, right thing and practice correctly, you know, so it’s helped our environment. Such as, you know, not using pesticides and not using, you know, an excessive amount of water and all these things in order to do this growing coffee beans. I think that’s a big time, big helpful. I think we believe that our customers recently or now believe that they understand what we’re doing and they believe that environment is another factor for them to believe that it’s good to have a good organic fair trade coffee.

Denzil Mohammed: You talk about growing up, seeing children working in the fields and you mentioned climate change. These are some of the things that you would have experienced firsthand growing up in Nepal. Described for us what it was like growing up in Nepal.

Umesh Bhuju: Well, you know, when I was in villages up to third grade, you know, I would have to walk, you know, 45 minutes just to get to school. And so but in olden days you know, I believe that you know that’s it’s a regular practice, you know, growing up in a country like Nepal and that’s where I’m from. So it was, I believe, it was difficult at that point and now I think of that, but you know, growing up at with that in at that environment, at that time it wasn’t really a big of a change for me, but you know, now I see and where now I visited the same place after, you know, 10, 15 years later or 20 years, 30 years later. So I see the difficulties there. I see a big change there because of it’s environmental factors, because of the not being able to, you know, grow things in the right way because of that. You know, a lot of deforestation, number one. And number two, because of deforestation, there’s a problem with irrigation in the villages, so in landslides and flood. So made a big impact on, you know, locals there. So because that’s something I have seen. So because of that, so I thought, you know, if we start something in a community that we would like to practice that, you know, that would help not only our community but also our world.

Denzil Mohammed: And you grew up in the outdoors a lot and it reached the point where you actually became a Sherpa, a guide, helping tourists to navigate Mount Everest, is that correct?

Umesh Bhuju: That’s correct.

Denzil Mohammed: That sounds very exciting. What was that like?

Umesh Bhuju: Yeah, that was fun. Like I said, you know, I can just only imagine now, you know, what I was doing at that time, you know, I was growing up in a village. From there we had to move to a new place where I could go to high school. And after high school, I decided that, you know, I liked the outdoors and I have seen the, you know, people from all around the world come to Nepal. And try to go and climb or hike. So I said to myself that, you know, I wanna enjoy that, you know, hike and climb, you know, why not? And so I decided to go to mountain school in order to be a mountain guide, so after high school, I went to mountain school. Then I got certified and I tried that for three full years of, you know, guiding. And with that capacity, you know, I get to go to a lot of remote villages and mountains and I have gone up to 2426 thousand feet high and I have climbed a few other mountains that, you know, high like 24,000 feet. So it was fun. I enjoyed it and you know.

Denzil Mohammed: Fun is not the part I would use to describe that, more like dangerous. But you were young and enterprising, climbing to 26,000 feet and at some point you decided to come to the U.S. Guide us through what the experience is like, first coming here and then deciding that you wanted to live here.

Umesh Bhuju: Okay, well, you know, there was a program called, I believe it still exists. I’m not sure because the COVID and all these things happened in the past, you know, a few years. There’s things called, the program called International Camp Counselor Program. The headquarter is based in New York City. So they bring young kids from all around the world. Basically, I believe from 16 to 20 years old kids to be a counselor in a summer camp. 1990, which is almost 31 years ago now, I applied to that program to be in that program so I can come to this country and teach young kids how to rock climb and play soccer. So I was in a program, I applied that program. So out of 500 applicants, I was one of the 25 kids that selected. After that, you know, I went back to Nepal because the first New England Everest expedition was, you know, putting together their plan to go and climb Mount Everest. So they asked me if I could go back with them and I said no problem, so I had to be a guide for them. So I went back, it was a good trip and then I came back to this country again ’cause I wanted to do another program where I could teach rock climbing and soccer again. Then after I decided to go to a university or college. So I started with the community college, then I transferred Boston University, then the rest of the history after that, I met my future wife and then one day I got laid off from my local job I was doing after 9/11, and then I put together a business plan to start that coffeehouse that, you know, I always wanted to open with my wife, future wife.

Denzil Mohammed: So you say you always wanted to open this. Was entrepreneurship something that sort of ran in your family or was it a bug that you picked up while you were here in the U.S.?

Umesh Bhuju: Well, you know, ran in the family, which in a way it is true, my grandfather and grandparents, they ran our small retail shop in the village. So that’s something they have done, but my father never done anything like that, but, you know, I always wanted to do something, you know. When I was in college and when I was, when I came to this country, I always brought, you know, a bunch of stuff that souvenirs from Nepal and I would do, you know, I would sell that on the street, whenever I can, in between my breaks at school so I have done that and I always like the whole idea of, you know, selling things, you know, whether it’s about, you know, a souvenir or something else, you know.

Denzil Mohammed: What was it in you that made you, you know, go out on the street and sell stuff and find farmers markets and be so enterprising? What was it about you or what was it about the experience of being an immigrant that allowed you to do that?

Umesh Bhuju: Well, you know, the one thing I know that I like seeing people. I’m not a desk, behind a desk person. So I always, you know, when I was in Nepal, I always guide, you know, and I was always with people, telling stories, learning from them. And also, you know, when I came to this country, I still want to be with people. So that, you know, helped me out there with people, you know, talking to people and you know, so learning from them and blend in this community that, you know, the world that, you know, I’m experiencing first time at that time.

Denzil Mohammed: Now, you once said to the press that you firmly believe in free enterprise and that people should be allowed to run their businesses how they want to and yet your business model is focused a little bit differently. So some people have the perception that businesses in the U.S. are just driven excessively by profit as opposed to what you are doing which is a lot more humanistic and community driven. What would you say to other business owners who are skeptical of your approach to running Zumi’s?

Umesh Bhuju: Well, you know, I consider myself, I would say maybe a social enterprise. You know, considering some other businesses where it’s profit oriented and this is more, you can still make a profit, you can still do a good job, good business. So, if for me, being in a community that, you know, serving and also helping, it goes hand in hand, you know, together. So I believe that, you know, if you are, if you want to be in a community and if you want to help community, I think it’s not only you’re looking at the bottom line of your business, you know, you really have to give it, give it back to the community. And that’s something I believe and that’s from something we have been doing and it’s been working out the best. Worked out well for us. In that sense, you know, earlier we talked about, you know, climate change and all these things. Not where one in the area that, you know, where we get our coffee from is having difficulties and difficulties right here. We had drought in Ipswich, you know, not long ago and still we are having a problem with them not being able to use the 100 percent of our water, so we are not getting enough water in the river because of not having enough rainfall. So all these things are matter for us because you know, not only for Zumi’s, you know, we use almost like a 90 plus percent of water in order to, you know, run the business because the coffee you know, made out of water. So it’s not only for that, but you know also for consumption of water. So humanity is bigger than anything else.

Denzil Mohammed: Now, over the decades, you’ve been given giving back to your community of Ipswich, as well as, you know, places far-flung, you know, sending food to Zaire and helping people in Nepal, helping people impacted by climate change or natural disaster, responding to the moment, you know, even in COVID times. You’ve been helping out with food insecurity in Ipswich. Your community involvement has extended to several different areas and you mentioned conservative environmentalism being one of them. There was also a movement several years ago to make Ipswich a sanctuary town and to protect the immigrants who lived there. What was that experience like and what role did you play and why was something like this important to you and the rest of the community? More than two-thirds voted for it, right?

Umesh Bhuju: Right. Well, you know, I won’t credit, give a credit 100 percent to me, but there was a group of local community members, the local leaders that, you know, they approached me to be in this group and so because of the type of business I run, which is, you know, I see all different groups of people or different people from different background. And I just happen to know immigrants that, you know, immigrant population that who doesn’t carry the paper, proper paper works. And because of that, so, it was easier for me to understand from the immigrants that who doesn’t have a paperwork and I just understand their story. And why they are here without the paperwork, and why it’s important for them, for them to be here and all these factors allowed me to advocate for this cause. And so we went ahead and did what we did in order to have them stay safe in the area. And we also found the places where they could stay safe if it’s needed, if they ever get harassed by, you know, people they don’t want to see. Harassed by people that, you know, who would make it difficult for them to stay around.

Denzil Mohammed: It is, however a difficult issue and we look at it politically and on the national level. A lot of your journey has been talking to people or educating people, not just about fair trade coffee and what that means, but your own story. If there was one thing that you could, you could tell America about immigrants. Something that is important, something that you think is left out of the conversation, what would it be?

Umesh Bhuju: So we have a massive amount of people from South America and you know, Latin America come to this country. I think we are so close to these countries and if we build this infrastructure there, I think it would create more jobs there. I think it would be a way to better off, you know, than what we have than what’s happening right now?

Denzil Mohammed: Umesh, thank you so much for making the time for this. I really enjoyed talking with you.

Umesh Bhuju: Thanks again for your support and thanks for having me.

Denzil Mohammed: JobMakers is a weekly podcast produced by Pioneer Institute, a think tank in Boston, and The Immigrant Learning Center, a not-for-profit that gives immigrants a voice. Thank you for joining us for today’s inspiring story of another immigrant entrepreneur. If you know someone we should talk to, or if you’d like to be a sponsor, email Denzil. That’s D-E-N-Z-I-L @jobmakerspodcast.org. Leave us a review. I’m Denzil Mohammed. Join us next Thursday at noon for another JobMakers podcast.