Making a dream come true with 7 kids and no formal training. You Can do It!

You say you Can't because you have kids? Hear the story of Jo Kahlifa one woman with 7 kids who is living her passion and dream! The human condition is something that cannot be ignored or taken for granted. Some of us, not by choice, are thrown into life without much of a chance or opportunity. If I can make a difference in the world, I will have accomplished much. In 1991, the company my husband was working for transferred us from small town America, Minot, North Dakota, to Michigan. At the time I had a floundering cookie business and welcomed the move. Rather than re-starting my business in our new home, I decided to go to college to pursue a psychology degree. After two years of city life, we were looking for a more rural lifestyle to raise our seven children. In June of 1993 we were lucky enough to find a small farm back in North Dakota. Once we settled into our beautiful little piece of paradise on the prairie, I enrolled in the college system and resumed my studies. Needing a break from my studies, I tried to figure out what else I could do. Since moving back home I was faced with the dilemma of not being able to find a good cup of coffee. I mentioned this to my husband and he suggested that I try roasting my own beans. As nuts as that sounded to me at the time, two months down the road I was doing just that. I decided perhaps I should open a coffee shop that would focus on quality and freshness. I began roasting coffee in a cast iron frying pan and moved on to various home roasting machines. One summer morning as I was sitting out on my deck watching the sunrise and roasting our morning coffee, I had an epiphany. Coffee roasting was what I was going to do for the rest of my life; I had found my core passion. In May of 2005 we restored an out building on the farm and MoJo Roast, INC was born. We were the first coffee company certified organic in the state of North Dakota.