Posts Tagged ‘just coffee’

Who Practices Fair Trade Principles?

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Fair Trade is theoretically a pretty straightforward concept.  We all need to trade in order to get our needs and wants met.  HOW we trade can get complicated in a complex and diverse marketplace.

The Fair Trade Federation (the association for North American organizations who are fully committed to Fair Trade) has established nine principles upon which Fair Trade is based.  Thanks to the support of the CRS Fair Trade Fund, a new website has been launched, FairTradePrinciples.org, that provides a collection of case studies to explain the Fair Trade business model.

With the creation of the site, the Federation seeks to highlight the ways in which Fair Trade offers a different approach to trade and to explain how Fair Trade businesses operate.   Exploring the nine case studies, visitors to the site can explore the specific ways in which Fair Trade retailers and cooperatives adhere to the nine principles of Fair Trade:

The various case studies are designed to inspire others to adopt fair trading practices and include some of CRS’ Fair Trade partners such as Cooperative Coffees, SERRV, Just Coffee and Larry’s Beans.  Check the site out and let us know if you agree with these principles. If you think something is missing or if you have other examples of Fair Traders!

Join the Just Coffee Delegation to Africa

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Just Coffee is still looking for a couple people to join their Africa delegation.

JUST COFFEE
together with Global Awareness Adventures
is traveling to Africa…and you are invited!

We’ll be visiting coffee producing partners in:
Ethiopia: April 18-24, 2010
Uganda: April 25-May 01, 2010
Tanzania: May 02-08, 2010

Cost: $1050 per week OR $2700 for all three weeks
(Subject to a minimum number of participants.)
Includes: shared accommodation, ground transportation, meals, translation and interpretation, park and museum entrance fees, donations to organizations we visit, service charges
Excludes: flights, airport taxes, personal items, drinks and alcohol, travel insurance, visas

Highlights include:

Ethiopia (Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union)-
• Visit the headquarters of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union
• Journey into rural areas to meet with organic coffee growers and community leaders that are members of Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union
• Witness the production of coffee in Ethiopia from the tree to export, including a visit to the national coffee processing center and warehouse
• Learn about community development projects and the Oromia Fair Trade Fund
• Watch the national coffee auction in action and visit the national cupping labs
• Experience the unique coffee culture of Ethiopia
• Participate in a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony
• Experience traditional Ethiopian food, music and dancing
• Tour Addis Ababa and visit the nation Museum to see “Lucy” the oldest hominid fossil as well as other archeological findings

Uganda (Gutumindo)-
• Visit the headquarters of Gumutindo, the newest coffee producing partner that Just Coffee purchases coffee from
• Travel the countryside meeting with Gumutindo’s organic coffee growers and community leaders
• Witness the production of Ugandan coffee
• Learn about Gumutindo’s community development projects including stores, offices, and a medical clinic that have been built for the village’s inhabitants
• Visit Mount Elgon National Park, a large volcanic mountain that spans several kilometers along the border of Uganda and Kenya offering challenging but accessible wilderness trekking and wild scenery

Tanzania (Mt. Meru Coffee Project & Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union-KNCU)-
• Visit the headquarters of the Mt. Meru Coffee Project and KNCU
• Travel the countryside meeting with Mt. Meru & KNCU coffee growers and community leaders
• Witness the production of coffee in Tanzania from the tree to the export process, including a visit to the Tanzanian Coffee Board Auction, TCCCo Coffee Curing Plant, and coffee cupping
• Visit Kahawa Shamba Fair Tourism Coffee Farm
• Experience traditional Tanzanian food, music and dancing
• Meet with and learn about the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania (IEFT), a non-profit grassroots organization providing quality, affordable secondary education to underserved indigenous children in rural Tanzania
• Visit a national park where wildlife such as giraffes, flamingos, and zebras can be seen
• Visit a traditional Masai village
• Travel near Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and one of the continent’s most magnificent sights

Contact Colleen Coy to register: colleen (at) justcoffee (dot) coop

About JUST COFFEE:
Just Coffee Cooperative’s mission is to work with small grower cooperatives in true partnership, using the language and mechanics of market economics to turn the market on its ear. They source the finest green bean coffee on earth, air-roast it to perfection, and deliver it (often by bicycle) fresh, ground or whole, proving to our customers that a fairer model can also deliver the highest quality products. Just Coffee aims for total transparency, sustainable business practices, and long-term relationships with all of the coffee producing partners they purchase from while providing a fun and meaningful cooperative workplace for the people who work there. They seek to change global social and economic inequality by practicing REAL fair trade in direct opposition to gluttonous “free trade” and corporate fair trade. Just Coffee recognizes fair trade as one strategy for change within a larger movement for global social justice.

About JUST COFFEE travel opportunities:
Just Coffee occasionally offers customized visits to the coffee producers they purchase from around the world. These delegations serve as a way for Just Coffee to stay in close contact with the coffee producing groups they purchase from, a value they feel is integral to fair trade. These trips are educational travel experiences that focus on the lengthy production process of coffee from the tree to your cup, the ideologies and realities of fair trade as it currently exists, and include discussions about globalization, cultural diversity, autonomy and indigenous rights, issues related specifically to women, international relations, the histories of the communities and countries we visit, current events, and much, much, more! These visits to coffee producing partners aim to offer a safe and supportive environment for people of different ages, genders, capabilities, nationalities, religions, and backgrounds to participate in exchanges that are meaningful for all.

What happens on visits to coffee country:
Formally, travelers meet with, share meals, and often stay overnight in coffee growing communities. We also visit local crafts people, artist collectives, traditional medicine healers, local radio stations, locally produced magazines, research organizations, Permaculture and sustainable agriculture groups, United Nations and government officials, environmental groups, and many others depending upon the place we travel to. We seek to learn not just about where our coffee comes from but also about people’s lives. Informally, we take every opportunity to immerse ourselves in their culture and environment, visiting local markets, eating traditional foods, and attending local events. We facilitate positive, creative, social interactions, and work together to process of all that we are taking in, learning about, and experiencing.

Customized travel:
Each trip’s focus is developed specifically to the needs, interests and capabilities of its travelers whether they be university or high-school students, community or faith groups, environmental or agricultural groups, coffee addicts, or just interested individuals. In order to keep our delegations small we generally accept a maximum of 12-15 people per trip but often take much smaller groups. Trips are generally between 5 and 7 days (although longer or shorter trips can be arranged depending on group requirements). Delegations may also include additional activities, such as guided ecological tours, volcano climbing, snorkeling and scuba-diving, etc.

Who comes along on these trips:
These trips are available to Just Coffee and Cooperative Coffee customers, friends, community members, avid coffee drinkers, and anyone with an interest in fair trade and cultural diversity. There are no language requirements nor age limits for our delegations. No matter where you live, if you have a positive attitude and desire to learn and participate, you are encouraged to join!

Get information and sign up:
For more information visit the delegation page of Just Coffee’s website at: http://justcoffee.coop/en/delegations.
To see photos of previous delegations please visit: http://justcoffee.coop/en/photo/48.
To sign up to join one of our upcoming delegations, or to plan a customized delegation specifically for your group, please contact, Colleen Coy:  colleen (at) just coffee (dot) coop

Thank you for your interest and support!!

Nicaraguan Faces of CRS Fair Trade

Friday, October 31st, 2008

The theme of Fair Trade month has been “Faces of Fair Trade,” and Katy and I wanted to use this occasion to share with you a face-to-face visit we had with two coffee farmers in Nicaragua last year.  Juanita Villareyna and Rosa Jimenez are members of La Fem, a women’s cooperative in Esteli, Nicaragua that sells to CRS Fair Trade partner, Just Coffee.  Thanks to their partnership with CRS-Nicaragua, they and some 5,400 other farmers in dozens of municipalities around Nicaragua are participating in the ACORDAR (Alliance to Create Opportunities for Rural Development through Agroenterprise Relationships) project.  In this video clip, Juana explains how access to technical know-how and agricultural equipment will help La Fem participate in specialty export markets.

Rosa also explains why the women of La Fem embrace organic farming and, as Catholic Social Teaching would call it “stewardship of God’s creation.”  Off camera Rosa had mentioned organics as important to the health of her four children, and in this interview Rosa explains how she sees herself doing her part to protect the planet. Click and listen for yourself!

Honoring the Labor of Fair Trade Cooperatives

Friday, August 29th, 2008


Saludos desde Managua, Nicaragua! I have just finished participating in a workshop with CRS agro-enterprise, management quality, and evaluation staff from our Latin America region. These folks are about to embark on a CRS project designed to improve the livelihoods of more than 7,000 small scale coffee farmers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua.

The majority of my time here, though, was spent in a hotel conference room. I know that doesn’t sound very exciting: spending hours on end discussing the opportunities for and barriers to market access from the perspective of coffee farmers in four very different countries with markedly similar problems. But to find solutions and to take advantage of new possibilities, thoughtful planning and consultation is key to being effective. Plus, whenever I meet with CRS country staff I am always impressed by their commitment, their competence, and their patience with my severely flawed Spanish language skills!

However, I suspect a blog reader doesn’t really want to know the results of small group brainstorming sessions. So, let me borrow from another CRS colleague, Fr. David Garcia, who recently visited Nicaragua as part of our Global Fellows program. Fr. David was fortunate to meet with some of the members of La Fem, a women’s led cooperative that CRS-Nicaragua accompanies in the Matagalpa region. Here are some of his reflections, and you can read more at the CRS Blog.

“While we visited [La Fem] they showed us a new wet mill, which is a machine that separates the coffee bean from the fruit pulp. CRS provided it and we were asked to bless it, as they looked forward to a more efficient processing of the coffee crop this year. The women now have a growing business selling Fair Trade organic shade-grown coffee, which is among the highest quality possible. They have paid back the initial loan and their children are now dreaming of going to the university. It was impressive how much they are aware not only of good business practices, but also marketing, prices, organic methods, and preserving the environment. These women never had much chance at formal education and now are changing the future for their entire village.”

What Fr. David witnessed was the result of long-term Fair Trade commitments. In addition to working with CRS in their home communities, La Fem is a partner of U.S. based CRS Fair Trade partner Just Coffee in Madison, WI. In the photo above you can see Fr. David and La Fem farmers with a bag of Just Coffee. Without technical assistance on the ground and export opportunities in the marketplace, coffee farmers are less likely to have their futures change for the better.

Whether in a field, a hotel room, or a coffee roastry, Fair Trade is changing lives. With a three-day weekend upon us, perhaps you’d like to take a moment to honor Fair Trade laborers, whether their cooperative be in Nicaragua, or Madison or in some place you’ve visited!