City of Bristol College has been working with a Bristol coffee roaster, Adrian Wogan from Brian Wogan Coffee, to introduce a new ‘buddy’ initiative linking College students with learners from La Bastilla Technical College in Nicaragua.

Adrian Wogan (pictured right, bottom) will pay $6,000 US per year to put three Nicaraguan students through education at La Bastilla Coffee Plantation.

Each student from Nicaragua will be buddied with a City of Bristol College student to share letters and pictures, with a possibility of the students meeting each other at points during the year.

The three students from La Bastilla, Harry Antonia, Hazzel Anielka and Karen Elohenia, are studying subjects in Business, Hotel Administration and Agronomy (the science of using plants for food).

Adrian Kirikmaa, Restaurant Manager at City of Bristol College, comments: “The initiative is an alternative to buying ‘fair trade’ coffee with 100% of the money going straight to the student’s education.

“This project allows our students to gain a better understanding of where the coffee they serve originates from, as well as allowing the Nicaraguan students to gain a better understanding of the final destination of the fruits of their labour.”

The three City of Bristol College students are currently studying BTEC National Diploma in Hospitality Management, and will meet Markus Fischer, General Manager of La Bastilla, (pictured above, top of photo) to discover more about what the project entails.

Bristol is twinned with Puerto Morazan in Nicaragua, along with six other towns from around the world. Town twinning started after the Second World War as a way of building strong links and friendships with communities in other countries.

Find out more about City of Bristol College’s catering courses.