Roasting Coffee on the Rosebud: A Conversation with Karen Moore of Wakalyapi Produce

In this episode of Food Revolution, Matte talks to Karen Moore, owner & operator of Wakalyapi Produce, a coffee roastery located on the Rosebud Reservation. Karen completed the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative's Waicahya Icagapi Kte (WIK, or They Will Grow Into Producers) adult internship program for tribal members interested in becoming local food producers & entrepreneurs in 2020, and shortly thereafter launched their business. Matte & Karen talk about how Karen got into coffee & started roasting, the different beans & roasts they've tried out, what it's like to launch a new business, and Karen's long-term plans to expand her business by growing coffee & ketogenic vegetables right here on the Rosebud.  You can order coffee from Karen here (and yes, they ship!)  Full episode transcription available here.  Enjoy listening to Food Revolution? Consider donating to the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative to help us in our mission to build food sovereignty and a local foods economy to empower our tribal community through food! Donations are 501(c)3 tax deductible.  Website: www.sicangucdc.org Facebook: Sicangu Community Development Corporation Instagram: @sicangucdc Twitter: @sicangucdc TikTok: @sicangucdc (Intro) 00:00:00 Hau Mitakuyapi, and welcome to Food Revolution, brought to you by the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative. Every other week, we'll be bringing you stories of food sovereignty from community members and tribal food producers working to build a more just, equitable, and regenerative food system for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate - the Burnt Thigh Nation. Together, we're building tribal sovereignty through food, and we've set a place at the table just for you. Join us and be part of the Food Revolution.   (Matte) 00:00:29 In today's episode, I'll be talking to Karen Moore, a Rosebud based food entrepreneur and the founder of Wakalyapi Produce. Karen completed the Food Sovereignty Initiative’s adult internship program in 2020, a year long paid program which teaches interested tribal members how to become food producers. Karen roasts coffee locally on the Rosebud Reservation, and we'll be talking with them about what it's been like to launch and grow their business today.  Can you introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about your background and about your business?   (Karen) 00:01:06 Sure. My name is Karen Moore, I'm an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and currently live in Mission, South Dakota. Um, my background, I, for most of my life, I grew up around here on the reservation in just different communities, um, and went to school and got my Associate's and Bachelor's in science from Sinte Gleska University and just worked like odd jobs here and there at the university. Um, I got an internship down in Virginia and then when I came back, I started working at the local coffee shop and that's really how I got introduced to coffee and like, how you don't have to add sugar and creamer to every cup to enjoy it. Um, and after a few