A taste of Africa comes to Lynn

LYNN – East Coast International Church promises to bring a taste of Rwanda to Munroe Street this fall when it opens the “Land of 1,000 Hills” coffee shop.Working with a Georgia company by the same name, East Coast will sell coffee grown by African farmers under a “collaborative trade coffee” arrangement described by the firm?s website as a direct relationship between coffee growers and purchasers with “middlemen” absent from the transaction.?You?ll actually know the name of the farmer who grew the coffee you are drinking,” said East Coast Lead Pastor Kurt Lange.Although it will mostly sell coffee, “Land of 1,000 Hills,” will also sell food in its 63 Munroe St. storefront with its high ceilings painted black and exposed brick walls. Lynn resident Hoana Cortez painted the ceiling on Thursday and said helping to create the coffee shop may turn her into a coffee drinker.?It?s a great experience to be part of,” she said.East Coast moved to Munroe Street five years ago after holding worship services in the Ingalls School. Lange said the coffee shop will operate separately from the church and increase opportunities for residents and people doing business downtown to spend money.?Land of 1,000 Hills” will be located next to the Haven Project, a social service program for youth ages 17 to 24 years old who lack strong family ties and other sources of support. Haven Project pays rent for its 57 Munroe St. space to East Coast, but Lange said the church and the program operate separately.?Haven is its own separate entity. We do job search training with them,” he said.Lange said East Coast members talked to downtown neighbors and decided to help improve Munroe Street by adding a storefront business to the street. Pastor Roy Lucier said one of the 2,500 Rwandan farmers working with the Land of 1,000 Hills collaborative visited Lynn two months ago.?When we talk about doing good, this fits our vision,” he said.