Kristy Carlson is a wife, mother and a photographer with purpose. In April of 2011, she and her husband moved their family from South Africa to Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. Combining her passion for photography with his love of coffee, they run Long Miles Coffee Project. Having chosen a life involving adventure, risk, and faith, their mission revolves around helping coffee farmers live better and receive a fair price for their coffee.

Kristy documented a day in her life with VSCO Film, giving us a personal look into how she is raising her two young boys and adjusting to a new culture and way of life. You can read more about the Carlson’s unique story on their blog.

5:00 AM

Feet to the floor. Our 2 year old, Neo, wakes up with the equatorial sun.

5:30 AM

Staying hydrated and caffeinated… equally important.

7:30 AM

Playing hooky from our life in the city. We drop our oldest boy at school and head for the coffee hills with Neo, our 2-year-old.

10:00 AM

Mpemba coffee washing station. I call this “the mzungu (white person) effect.” Our arrival is the talk of the neighborhood and the entertainment of the day.  

10:30 AM

Neo keeps people laughing by wandering around and documenting life with his Diana mini. I breathe in deep, watching him out here brings certainty to our journey.

11:00 AM

I begin photographing the coffee farmers of the area. It’s two months until our next visitor, who will hand-carry this film out of the country for me. There is no trustworthy mail system in Burundi.

12:00 PM

This is where your coffee comes from. His name is Emanuel. He has 500 coffee trees and 5 children to support. He made $76 by growing coffee last year.

1:00 PM

En route home we pull over next to the vegetable sellers and our car is immediately surrounded.

1:30 PM

My man has a thing for bartering. We finally pull away with our back end full of yummy vegetables and lovely plants for our garden.

2:00 PM

One last roadside pull over. We can’t go home without bananas.

3:30 PM

Home again and the house is full with the sounds of our life raising boys. It’s hot, and time for more espresso.

4:00 PM

Frangipani shadows falling on the garden wall always make me grateful.

4:30 PM

It’s way too hot to stay dry. Bucket baths begin in the back yard and, of course, I Instagram it.

5:00 PM

Bucket baths turn into one big ol’ water war.

7:00 PM

The chaos of homework, supper and stories is behind us. The boys sleep underneath the covering of their mosquito nets, and we sigh our relief.