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!