During the Fall 2019 semester, Courtney Noll was awarded an Engaged Learning in Scholarship. Courtney utilized funds from this award to do fieldwork in Southeast Asia over winter break. Courtney is working on an honors thesis research project examining the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Timor-Leste. Courtney is a senior majoring in International and Labor Relations (ILR). M. Diane Burton, Associate Professor in the ILR School and Chair of the Department of Human Resource Studies, is Courtney's thesis advisor and has played a critical role guiding and supporting Courtney in the design of this project.
"My fieldwork in Timor-Leste was incredible and truly the most influential experience I have had at Cornell," Courtney said. Courtney noted that Ethnographies of Development, an course taught by Professor Marina Welker, inspired her research project.
Courtney provided a summary of her work in Timor-Leste:
This past winter break, I spent five weeks in Timor-Leste, a small island in Southeast Asia, conducting ethnographic fieldwork for my honors thesis, which evaluates the impact of a USAID project intended to promote economic development in Timor-Leste by expanding the country’s coffee industry. This specific USAID project created a new coffee cooperative in Timor-Leste, called Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT). The Timorese coffee farmers in the cooperative sell unprocessed coffee cherries to CCT representatives. CCT then processes the coffee cherries and exports them to international buyers. Approximately 60% to 70% of the CCT’s coffee is sold to Starbucks.
I am particularly interested in how this specific USAID project established and solidified an exploitative relationship between the Timorese coffee farmers and Starbucks. Much of the success of this project has been discussed in macro-level terms, such as number of exports and trade partnerships. However I am interested in understanding the true community and local impact of this project.
I completed my fieldwork in two major coffee growing regions, Ainaro and Ermera, to understand how USAID’s CCT project has impacted coffee farmers at this individual level. In addition to interviewing local and smallholder coffee farmers, I was also able to meet with the United Nations Regional Coordinator, one of the managers of the CCT project, and a policy analyst at the Food and Agriculture Organization to gain a better understanding of the importance of coffee to Timor-Leste’s economic development.
One of my biggest findings was that the establishment of the USAID-funded CCT cooperative did not result in an overall improvement of the incomes and livelihood of the Timorese coffee farmers. Farmers overwhelming indicated that they had a better standard of living when Indonesia controlled and the coffee industry in Timor-Leste. Under the CCT, the price that farmers get for coffee has not changed much from Indonesian times, but their cost of living has gone up, thus leaving them with even less disposable income.
In reflecting on how this experience has impacted my academic and professional trajectory, I know that I will carry this experience with me as I plan to pursue a career in international development and advocate for a local and community-based approach to development. As I continue to analyze this data, I plan to reach out to USAID officials and communicate these findings in order to advocate for changes to this current project with the hope that the Timorese coffee farmers will receive a greater income from the global supply chain in the near future.
Engaged Learning in Scholarships support students who seek training in anthropological techniques or who would like to participate in anthropologically-oriented engaged learning opportunities. The Engaged Learning in Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor. The Department of is grateful for generous donors who make awards like this possible as they provide students with opportunities for transformative research and experiences.
