By Jackie DeCarlo, Jackie.decarlo@crs.org

Yesterday Catholic Relief Services celebrated World Fair Trade Day at our headquarters by welcoming everyone to work with a lobby filled with fair trade samples.  Thanks to the generosity of other WFTD sponsors, the typical chocolate and coffee was on hand along with new additions such as honey.  The raffle prize was a handmade basket from Bangladesh.  Back at our desks, we released new web content on economic justice, focusing on Care of God’s Creation.

With the hard work done, and on the eve of the official commemoration, I have a moment to reflect on fair trade around the world.  Or perhaps, given the flurry of recent activities, “the world of Fair Trade.”   A week or so ago, I had the honor of gathering with representatives of dozens of businesses, producers groups, nongovernmental organizations, and universities to consider what it will take to strengthen the fair trade movement in North America. While I was cautious about the Summit, having been disappointed by the lack of tangible outcomes from similar endeavors in the past, I left the meeting hopeful because of two key factors.  First, the range of stakeholders was very broad. Never before had so many voices from important segments of the fair trade community, including farmworkers in the United States, gathered together. Also, the proceedings—from advance preparation to whole group decision making—were based on consensus. This combination of participation and sharing power created a powerful platform.

Now as the dust settles from the event, and I talk to participants on the outside of the event looking in, a critical question turns on the idea of participation.   Yes it was a diverse group, but there were some significant gaps in terms of regions of the world, types of workers, business models.   As we try to build on the accomplishments of the event, how do we continue to have the right mix of people informing and engaging in our work? Indeed, a great deal of work remains to be done.  While the Summit made progress on defining shared values and creating new collaboration, it did not generate expected outcomes such as endorsing a definition of what fair trade is and what it is not.     If we want to transform trade, if we want to be relevant, if we want to have positive impacts on the lives of fair traders, we have a lot of work to do.

When I run up against sticky situations in fair trade, I often resort to comparing the movement to democracy.   But my analogy might be failing me here.  How do we give each person their vote in this movement of farmers, artisans, hired labor?  How do we reflect the realities of continents as different as Africa and Asia?  What mechanism can hold the democratic processes necessary to shift the balance of power from the consuming countries to the producing?   Maybe we need not a republic like the U.S.A. but a United Nations?  Should we follow the example of cooperatives, who convene General Assemblies?

I know it is not the hallmark of a good blogger to have more questions than answers, but I believe that is the state of the fair trade world we are in, at least in North America.  So as you kick up your heels and celebrate World Fair Trade Day tomorrow, consider how you want to participate in the movement, whose leadership you want to represent which voices, and let me know via jackie.decarlo@crs.org or on Facebook.   

This spring fair traders are finding many ways to gather and dialogue.

By Jackie.decarlo@crs.org

My bags are packed, the “out of office” messages recorded, and now I just have to read a 70 document in preparation for the North American Fair Trade Stakeholder Summit next week….Why the homework as a beautiful spring weekend beckons?

As regular readers know, these are exciting–if sometimes perplexing times–in the fair trade movement.  As organizations and individuals dedicated to economic justice try to find ways forward, CRS has been involved in several undertakings, including being one of dozens of organizations involved in the Summit.  Our hope is to help create and contribute to spaces where strategies and tangible results for the poor are explored and strengthened.  The summit is the latest opportunity.

Speaking to my colleagues as I headed out of the office, I joked about locking the doors of the hotel conference room and not letting anyone out until we accomplish something tangible and deliverable.   Unfortunately, I have been in too many meetings in the past where good intentions were articulated but, due to the demands of time, money, conflicting missions and even structural inertia, little was accomplished.  Courtney quipped back, “If the Continental Congress could create a nation in a week, you all should be able to pull the movement back together in three days.”

Although I had to consult Wikipedia to get the exact reference, her point is well taken: Fair traders sometimes position themselves as revolutionaries, seeking to create an alternative trading system that will fix what’s wrong with conventional business.  In a similar vein, some of us at CRS compare fair trade as a concept to that of the ideals of democracy, flawed in practice but the best concept for an economy that we have.

How to make the “best” concept better will require agreement on what fair trade is and what is not.  We’ll need to make commitments to cooperation and accountability.  We’ll have to share resources and make sacrifices.  These seem like the basics for any enduring endeavor.

I will do my best to share the group’s progress, but I don’t expect to tweet or be on Facebook much.  Instead I will hunker down to listen and learn, debate ideas, and focus on what’s achievable.  Once the doors are unlocked and the Summit concludes, I will report out on whether or not our group earned its moniker as “leaders” in the North American movement.

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Coffee quality issues revealed through "cupping" is a popular SCAA activity.

By Jackie.Decarlo@crs.org

Once again Catholic Relief Services is attending the Specialty Coffee Association Expo.  Amid barista competitions, natural resource management discussions, and ratings of best bean origins, the agency is bringing together staff, volunteers and allies.  We have technical staff from Latin America, Fair Trade Ambassadors, and members of our US Operations gathering in Portland, Oregon to exchange ideas and build relationships. There seems to be no end to activities at Expo: workshops, book signings, coffee slurping, and parties!

While I love learning from coffee experts about the beverage that starts my day and brings income to farmers, to me one of the best parts of any conference is the networking opportunities.  To that end, CRS Fair Trade is hosting a reception honoring our partners and celebrating the successes of our grant-making.  Besides the chance to enjoy the company of allies and some local food and drink at Abby’s Table in Portland, Oregon, the gathering gives us a platform to share these success stories:

• In October 2011 coffee leaders from pioneering Fair Trade organizations around the world met in Wuppertal, Germany to evaluate current tools and to explore best strategies for the future.  The outcome was the formation of a “Fair Trade Organization” Community Working Group.  With producer and trader representatives from across the coffee spectrum, the ultimate goal of this working group is to broaden dialogue between Producer Organizations and Fair Traders who share common values and to seek concrete actions towards making “Trade more Fair.”  The group is hosting a session at SCAA to continue recent conversations and debates.  The CRS Fair Trade Fund granted $19,000 to Cooperative Coffees to support this process.

While initiatives such as that of Cooperative Coffees are important to address critical issues in the fair trade marketplace, most of the Fund’s investments go to on-the-ground efforts.  One of our most recent grantees is in the Holy Land:

• Restrictions on the movement of Palestinian labor and products inside the occupied territories limit the growth of the Palestinian economy. To address the  many constraints on commerce, a non profit Fair Trade corporation –Adel–was established.  With a grant of $47,675 made through CRS offices in the Holy Land, Adel has implemented a strategic planning process.  Their goal is to build market channels in the Palestinian local market for 100 small producers.

Although the Holy Land project doesn’t involve coffee, SCAA participants—especially the farmers–will likely be interested in its approach of applying global fair trade principles—to local realities.  While originally an operational Fund, in recent years the Fund has evolved to try to use its resources to invest in issues and opportunities that contribute broadly to the achievement of sustainable and fair trade.

The CRS Fair Trade Fund is made possible through the generous contributions of our partners: every time a US Catholic individual or institution buys from a CRS partner, the Fund receives a donation.  In turn, a diverse committee of CRS staff–with one partner representative–then recycles those resources into grants.  In addition to the projects we are highlighting above, the Fund’s other current grantees are:

1. CRS-Pakistan: Working in cooperation with Afghan refugees, local Pakistani entrepreneurs are developing a fair trade artisan organization. $47,730 for the first year of a two-year proposal.
2. Cabrini College and St. Joseph’s University:  Using a mix of activism and study, this is an initiative to develop a Delaware Valley consortium of higher education institutions committed to fair trade. $14,000 matched by Cabrini College.
3. Duquesne University: Supporting Campus Ministry in its organization of fair trade events including a campus-wide symposium.  $9,000 for one year.
4. Fair Trade Ambassadors: Each year up to 25 volunteers are trained by CRS to serve as word-of-mouth  marketers for CRS partners and programs.  Approximately $35,000 per year.

Here at SCAA the work of the Fund is coming full circle in many ways. Eight Fair Trade Ambassadors are attending the Expo after an series of volunteer tasks promoting economic justice qualified them to participate in this industry event.   To learn more about what CRS is learning and sharing at SCAA follow us on Twitter or friend us on Facebook for updates.

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We’re a finalist for a Fair Trade Resource Network “Best in Fair Trade” award!

We’re up against Ten Thousand Villages Canada and Fair Trade USA in the category of “Most Effective Public Education Program.”  Because we’re all about education, please check out the other categories and read about all the finalists!

Congratulations to our partners at SERRV and Equal Exchange for their nominations in other categories as well!

Please take a moment and vote for us, because just this once, we’re in favor of unbridled, free market competition…

VOTE NOW! 

By Courtney Lare (courtney.lare@crs.org)

Throughout May more than 100,000 people will attend hundreds of celebrations across the country to celebrate World Fair Trade Day (WFTD), which officially falls on Saturday, May 12.  CRS Fair Trade is very proud to once again be an official sponsor of WFTD, which is the largest fair trade event of the year in the U.S.  WFTD is an excellent opportunity to promote economic justice in your community, and to stand in solidarity with our disadvantaged brothers and sisters abroad.

We know that all sounds really official, and like it might be a lot of work, but no worries!  Supporting WFTD can be as involved as hosting a Work of Human Hands Sale, fashion show, speech, film night or concert, or as easy as just showing up at one of these events, saying a prayer, or simply wearing a free sticker.  So this May, consider how you can pray, learn, act or give of your time to support fair trade producers everywhere.

Pray:  Take a moment to pray for fair trade farmers and artisans around the world, especially poor and marginalized women.  The vast majority of fair trade craft producers are women, many of whom are working hard every day to provide a good life for their children.  WFTD is the day before Mother’s Day this year, so ask the Blessed Mother to intercede on behalf of these hardworking mothers.  Or perhaps you might even ask your pastor to include a prayer for these women in the petitions during Mass.

Learn:  Use WFTD as an opportunity to learn more about the fair trade movement.  No matter how little or how much you know about fair trade, you can always learn more!  Poke around the CRS Fair Trade website, check out some of our recent blogs, or jot us a note and ask for some insight.  You can also download our print resources, or just place an order here and they’ll be delivered to your doorstep.  Our friends over at the Fair Trade Resource Network, the official organizer of WFTD in the U.S., also have a wealth of fair trade information to choose from, so take a look at their materials as well.

Act:  Even small acts contribute to the greater social good, so this WFTD, enjoy a fair trade chocolate bar with your family, or just drink a cup of fair trade coffee on your own as you prepare for the day ahead.  Want to feed two birds with one hand?  Buy Mom a fair trade gift for Mother’s Day to honor her and support the livelihood of another mother thousands of miles away.

Give:  You might also consider giving of your time by holding a fair trade coffee tasting in your school, participating in an event already taking place in your community, or hosting a Work of Human Hands Sale in your parish.  Not sure if hosting a Sale is right for you?  Check out this how-to video and accompanying guide for an overview of the steps to a successful Sale.  Have specific questions?  Then give Work of Human Hands a call at 1.800.685.7572 and the friendly customer service staff at SERRV can walk you through it!  It’s an excellent way to network and build community in your school or parish, and it’s a very tangible way to stand in solidarity with fair trade farmers and artisans.

Already hosting an event, or planning on attending one?  Use this online form to let us know about it, and we’ll post it on the CRS Fair Trade website!  CRS Fair Traders are some very creative folks, so let us know what you’ve got planned, or share some of your tips and tricks so that others can have a great World Fair Trade Day experience as well!

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Haitian farmers  & CRS staff study coffee beans damaged by insects. Photo by: Benjamin Depp.

Blog by Jackie DeCarlo, jackie.decarlo@crs.org

In a recent blog posting from our friends and partners at Equal Exchange,  Santiago Paz, Co-Manager, CEPICAFE in Peru reflected on his perspectives of the origins and mandate of fair trade:

“From my point of view, Fair Trade cannot stop generating development, this must be emphasized. This was Fair Trade’s originating ideal and it should not be abandoned. Fair Trade is help for self-help: it helps to strengthen your organization so that you can use this to resolve your problems.”

Santiago was speaking in the context of protecting cooperatives from the entry of plantations into the certified marketplace.  This is real and legitimate concern.  For us at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Santiago’s convictions illustrate well some of the conflicts about the Fair Trade for All approach offered by Fair Trade USA. But they also point to the reality that we need many different strategies….especially when farmer cooperatives do not exist.   As we stated in a document delivered to Fair Trade USA:

“[O]ur experience has shown us that in some cases, investments to improve cooperative management or expand access to trade finance can help coops overcome barriers to competitiveness…. In some cases, however, cooperatives simply fail to thrive. The reasons may vary. The bottom line, however, is that coops don’t work when farmers perceive that the costs of formal organization – either in terms of cash contributions, time, risk in contexts where organization is a politically freighted endeavor, etc. – exceed the expected value – as measured by increased incomes, access to services, information and markets, etc. In these contexts, CRS often finds itself working with smallholder farmers to co-create alternative forms of organization for the marketplace…”

Balancing approaches can be complicated and confusing, and the past few months have seen a firestorm of controversy in the fair trade movement about the FT4All strategy.  Devising new ways forward to determine what works best with and for the poor will take careful planning, research, and transparent monitoring and evaluation.  To that end, CRS submitted a full commentary to Fair Trade USA’s on its first version of standards for those farmers who are not organized into cooperatives.   You can read our complete assessment and let us know what you think.

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By Courtney Lare (courtney.lare@crs.org)

As our Operation Rice Bowl country tour nears a close, we focus on India, our last international stop.  Here and around the world, both Catholic Relief Services and our partners at SERRV exercise the Catholic social teaching principle known as the option for the poor.  This principle states that as a community of faith, we have the obligation to reach out to those most in need, and that the Gospel specifically calls us to take action on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society.

(Don’t have a Rice Bowl yet?  It’s not too late to start using the reflections from the program for your Lenten observances!   You can order a free kit for your home or parish here.)

Because we are called to serve those most in need, CRS’ mother and child health programs in India and around the world train health workers to care for families with young children. The health workers encourage expectant mothers to eat extra food and take vitamin supplements, and they measure the growth and weight of babies after they are born.  In the village of Bahadurnagar in India, 13 year old Gulsana interacted with one of these health workers, and became the primary reason her youngest sister, age 2, received a powdered nutritional supplement.  When the health worker failed to convince Gulsana’s father that the supplement was good for young children, Gulsana tried again.  She and the health worker came up with a recipe for the supplement that her father approved of, and now her sister eats regularly and her health has improved.

In India, SERRV also works with vulnerable women – one group, the Sasha Association for Craft Producers, is comprised of more than 100 crafts groups, and nearly 70% of the producers are women.  Sasha has helped to revive dying arts and skills, provide artisans with a livelihood, and revitalize craft communities.  Sasha’s success has been in combining community development with handcraft marketing. The marketing arm finds needed outlets for handcrafts, while development projects have led to health campaigns, improved working conditions, and stable incomes.  Sasha’s unique model of organizing groups into larger crafts consortiums means that groups specializing in different aspects of textiles – such as embroidery, printing, and tailoring – combine their skills to make unique products that are exported around the world and also sold in their own store in Kolkata.

Interested in learning more about CRS’ or SERRV’s work in India?  Check out this video interview with Roopa, co-founder of Sasha, or head over to Operation Rice Bowl’s India page for more stories that can guide your Lenten prayers.

By Courtney Lare (courtney.lare@crs.org)

This week’s theme for Operation Rice Bowl is the Catholic social teaching principle regarding the dignity of work and the rights of workers.  This theme is a familiar one for fair traders – we know that the ability to work and earn a living is a right of all people, and that all workers have the right to a fair wage and to work in good conditions.

Catholic Relief Services’ microfinance programs in Zambia (be sure to check out our other countries of the week!) and around the world embody this principle by helping people in the poorest communities earn more money to support their families and set aside savings for the future.  CRS helps to set up Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) comprised of local community members that pool small amounts of money to create a bank that can grant  small loans to members.  Loan applicants must explain how much money they will need and how they plan to use it, and the rest of the group votes on whether or not to grant the loan. The loans are paid back with interest, which increases the amount of money in the SILC bank. Some communities also have a “social fund,” from which members can take loans to pay for doctor’s visits for sick family members and other emergencies.

Joyce Namate Malunda of Mongu, Zambia was able to take out one of these loans to open a small grocery shop in her local market.  Her earnings have allowed her to feed her family and to pay school fees so that her daughters can get an education.  Micro-loans such as Joyce’s are particularly valuable in the world of fair trade as well, as they often provide much needed start-up capital for seeds or irrigation systems for farmers.  Our partners recognize this as well, and they try to ensure that the people they work with are equipped to meet the challenges of the fair trade market.

Dean’s Beans, for example, has worked with the Oromia Organic Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia to add additional capital to “Miriam’s Well,” a revolving loan fund for well building in coffee villages.  Dean also talked with the Asian Development Bank in Papua New Guinea about the need to create microloan programs the farmers.  Since then, seventy coffee farmers have received loans for the first time in their lives.  Grounds for Change helps farmers in Peru and Mexico by supporting local domestic violence intervention programs and small business loans for women.  At Providence Coffee, they work with the PPKGO Cooperative of Indonesia, where income from fair trade has allowed them to establish a credit union to extend small loans to families in the cooperative.  The cocoa farmers of Kuapa Kokoo (the growers of your delicious Divine Easter Chocolate) also have a credit union that provides loans to members at competitive rates, as well as providing information and advice on savings and careful spending.  The credit union is a major reason that the proportion of women farmers has grown from 13% to nearly 30% since 2004.

By Mary Peirce (mary.peirce@crs.org)

Last Sunday, at the conclusion of a warm, sunny St. Patrick’s Day weekend, 23 new CRS Fair Trade Ambassadors were commissioned to promote Fair Trade in their parishes and home communities. We were blessed and inspired to meet and train these “super volunteers” from across the country! The Ambassadors toured CRS’ world headquarters and the facilities of our partners at SERRV in New Windsor, MD.

Ambassadors organize Fair Trade events and inspire others to purchase Fair Trade products from CRS partners as a way to live their Catholic faith and support global economic justice.  After an intensive weekend training, Ambassadors commit to a minimum of one year of working with Catholic institutions and individuals to raise awareness of CRS and Fair Trade. Each Ambassador works an individual Action Plan, which includes hosting Fair Trade events, encouraging Catholic institutions to convert to Fair Trade products, and promoting legislative action through Catholics Confront Global Poverty.  Since 2007, CRS has trained 120 Fair Trade Ambassadors in the U.S.

Representatives from two CRS Fair Trade partners also attended the training (Rafael Rosario of Pura Vida in Seattle and Serena Sato of SERRV), as well as a dozen CRS staff from U.S. headquarters and regional offices.  A previously trained (veteran) Ambassador, Claudia Brown of Arlington, VA, shared her experience with the new Ambassadors.

CRS Fair Trade Ambassadors work together in community, supporting one another in prayer and action. Fair Trade Ambassadors participate in monthly conference calls, submit a monthly journal, and earn awards through an annual incentive plan.

The newly commissioned Ambassadors are:

Midwest: Leo Barron, IN, Rev. Edward Brienz, OH, Chrissy Goethel, WI, Peggy Haselhorst, IL, Sunnie Lain, OH, Kathie Lempa, IL, Tim McEntee, IA, Peg Murphy, IN, Doris Nordin, IL, Thomas Ruggaber, IL, Lauren Vaske, MN, Deacon Paul White, OH

West: Julie Bishop, CA, Jeff Kirschbaum, CA, Anne Maloney, CA, Anne Pacheco, CA, Elizabeth Reville, NV, Nancy Ryan, CA

Northeast/MidAtlantic: Lynn Campbell, CT, Elizabeth Keene, ME

Southeast: Carol Fleming, GA, Nadine Pizer, LA, Lois Wolfe, GA

If you would like more information about the CRS Fair Trade Ambassador program, please contact mary.peirce@crs.org or your CRS regional representative.

By Courtney Lare (courtney.lare@crs.org)

This week our Operation Rice Bowl country tour continues in El Salvador.  CRS works with partners in El Salvador to implement many programs, including microfinance, peacebuilding, and water and sanitation projects.  Today, however, we’re going to be focusing on agriculture – of the fair trade coffee variety, to be exact.

(Interested in another program area?  Be sure to check out the water and sanitation stories of Irzan and María from our Rice Bowl team.  Don’t have a Rice Bowl yet?  It’s not too late to start using the reflections from the program for your Lenten observances!   You can order a free kit for your home or parish here.)

CRS’ Coffee Assistance for Enhanced Livelihoods (CAFE Livelihoods) was a three-year project that helped more than 7,100 smallholder farmers in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua compete more effectively in the market by delivering technical assistance to them along the coffee chain.  The project not only connected farmers with coffee consumers in the United States, but it also helped participating farmers increase productivity, it improved their capacity to produce coffee that meets high quality standards, and it directly fostered improved coffee-chain relationships.

One of the participating CAFE Livelihoods cooperatives is Las Colinas, an 89-family co-op managing a 500-acre organic farm in western El Salvador.  The farm includes a natural spring that provides water to over 5,000 neighbors of the co-op, and caring for it is a responsibility that Las Colinas takes seriously.  The cooperative has fenced off the area to avoid contaminating the water source, and it has replaced crops on the steep hillsides that rise out of the spring with shade coffee to replenish and protect it.  The co-op also invested in a wastewater treatment system that eliminates all the contaminants from the wet milling process for coffee and preserves the quality of water for folks who live downstream.  Managing the spring has not been without difficulty, but Las Colinas continues to invest in maintaining it as part of their commitment to the community and to the environment.

When CAFE Livelihoods started working with Las Colinas in 2009, cooperative members feared that they were only weeks away from being forcibly shut down.  “Some of us felt that fear down to our bones,” said Pedro Ascencio, a co-op member and the marketing coordinator for the group, but collaboration with CRS gave Las Colinas enough of a “boost” to keep growing quality coffee.

Because of the boost from CAFE Livelihoods, Las Colinas was able to continue to export their coffee to our partners at Equal Exchange.  While CRS’ involvement in with the co-op officially ended early in 2011 (stay tuned for round 2 as we work to secure more funding!), Equal Exchange continued to work with Las Colinas.  In October 2011, this work was halted by nearly two weeks of torrential downpours that knocked out the roads to the cooperative and destroyed all of their crops – not just coffee, but also food.  But because fair trade is about long-term partnerships, the folks over at Equal are standing by the smallholder famers of Las Colinas; they are currently collecting emergency funds to replace lost food crops and to help repair roads until the farmers of Las Colinas can get back on their feet and start growing quality coffee again.

So next time you order from Equal Exchange (after all, it is time for Easter chocolate!), be sure to thank them for their great work in El Salvador!

Want to learn more about CRS’ coffee work in El Salvador (and beyond)?  Head on over to the CRS Coffeelands Blog for insights from Michael out in the field.

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