Intro

In a world obsessed with margins and scale, we often overlook the human cost buried in our supply chains. FairChain isn’t just a blockchain use case — it’s a movement. A rethinking of how products are made, valued, and sold. In this post, I’ll share my experience building a blockchain-backed traceability and transparency platform for African coffee farmers — and how we learned to align tech with justice.

🧭 1. The Problem We Took On

Global coffee production often rewards intermediaries far more than the farmers. This imbalance sustains poverty and locks origin economies in cycles of dependency.

• Farmers get <10% of the retail value
• Traceability is weak, and buyers rarely know the true source
• Development aid often patches symptoms, not causes

⚙️ 2. The FairChain Vision

Shift value creation back to the countries of origin. Use blockchain for radical transparency — not hype.

• Full traceability from bean to cup
• Token incentives for ethical actions across the chain
• Blockchain-stored impact receipts and payment records
• Collaboration with brands like Moyee Coffee

🛠️ 3. What We Built

A permissioned blockchain solution for tracking, verifying, and validating every step of the coffee journey.

• Built on Hyperledger Fabric
• Digital identities for farmers, co-ops, and exporters
• Smart contracts to record pricing, payments, and premiums
• Chain of custody tokens with batch-level granularity