A report on Equal Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program
[3-23-02]
Equal Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program
works in partnership with communities of faith and faith-based
organizations to make a difference in the lives of small coffee farmers
and their families through Fair Trade. The Presbyterian
Church, among other denominations, is actively supporting this effort.
Here's a report on the Coffee Program's
activities during 2001, along with details of a recent delegation visit
to coffee growers in El Salvador, and the Program's current search for a
new staff member. There's also a brief description of the program as a
whole. [3-23-02]
Interfaith Coffee Program continues to
grow in 2001
by Erbin Crowell, Program Director
Since 1997, Equal Exchange and Lutheran World
Relief have been partners in the LWR Coffee Project, an educational
initiative encouraging Lutheran parishes to use fairly traded
coffee. Following on the success of this project, similar
partnerships have been launched with the American Friends Service
Committee, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Unitarian Universalist
Service Committee. And as word has spread, over 4,000 places of
worship of many denominations and faiths have participated in Equal
Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program, serving "Fellowship
Blend" at coffee hour, offering packaged coffee and tea at holiday
bazaars and fundraisers, and forming buying clubs to purchase coffee for
home use. Together, these communities purchased over 60 tons of
fairly traded coffee in 2001.
This support was especially vital to small
coffee farmers and their families last year. As world coffee
market prices fell from a high of $1.40 per pound in 1999 to a low of
just 45˘ in 2001, there were reports of a growing crisis in
coffee-growing communities. Many farmers reported receiving as
little as 15˘ to 20˘ per pound from local middlemen. In Kenya
and Guatemala entire crops were left to rot on coffee bushes; in El
Salvador 30,000 farm jobs were lost just before the harvests began; in
Nicaragua unemployed workers and displaced farmers set up shantytowns in
the cities. While the headlines have faded, the crisis has
continued into the new year, with prices recently dropping as low as
42˘ per pound.
Through Equal Exchange's Interfaith Program and
our partner projects, churches, congregations and faith-based
organizations have been making a difference. As a fair trade
organization, Equal Exchange is committed to fair trade on 100% of our
coffees and teas. By working directly with democratic farmer
cooperatives, we cut out middlemen, ensuring that more money reaches
those who do the hard work of growing coffee. By offering
affordable credit and providing a long-term trading partner, we offer
stability in an unstable market. Perhaps most importantly, given low
market prices, Equal Exchange pays farmers a fair price, including a
guaranteed minimum of $1.26 per pound - currently more than double the
world market price. With your help, Equal Exchange paid over
$960,000 to small farmers in above-market premiums in 2001 alone, giving
them hope for the future.
We are always thankful to the many people who
have joined with us in this effort, and amazed at the enthusiasm with
which people have made fair trade a reality in their communities.
Please let us know how we may serve you better as we grow this program
joining faith and fair trade.
*For more information on our partner projects,
please visit: http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith/ifpartners.html
==================
A pilgrimage to the coffee lands
by Jill Wenke, Interfaith Liaison
In January 2002, leaders from Lutheran World
Relief, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Committee on
Relief and individual congregations traveled together with Equal
Exchange on an Interfaith Fair Trade Delegation to visit coffee
cooperatives in El Salvador.
Members of the group represented some of
the 4,000 congregations that have supported fair trade through Equal
Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program. Communities of faith from
Fairbanks, AK to the US Virgin Islands are supporting Salvadoran coffee
cooperatives by serving Equal Exchange's 'Fellowship Blend' for coffee
hour and offering Café Salvador to their members. While visiting
members of Las Colinas, a small farmer cooperative that grows the beans
for Fellowship Blend and Café Salvador, Pastor David Smith of St. Paul
Lutheran Church, Metropolis, IL said it best: "As we weather the
cold U.S. winters, your coffee warms our hearts. Now that we are here,
we're just that much closer to the cup of justice we so often hold in
our hands."
It seemed to those of us on the trip as if the odds were stacked against
the people of El Salvador: a brutal civil war ended just ten years ago;
earthquakes devastated much of the country last year; and the recent
coffee crisis, caused by an all-time low in the real price of coffee on
the conventional market, has put small coffee farmers throughout the
country at risk of losing their land. However, the impact of fair trade
was clear. Whereas on the conventional market, farmers are receiving
less than $0.50/lb., Equal Exchange guarantees $1.26/lb. for
conventional beans and $1.41/lb. for organic. Although members of Las
Colinas and El Pinal, the cooperatives with which Equal Exchange works,
are still struggling, they are able to plan for the future and support
their families. As Alfredo Rumualdo Ascencio, a member of Las Colinas,
put it, "The hope that we have is from fair trade."
After one
week in El Salvador we left knowing that our work in faith communities
has had a great impact. In 2001 alone, congregations purchased over
sixty tons of fairly traded coffee and tea, making an enormous
difference in the lives of small farmers. But for many producers, fair
trade remains a distant dream.
To find out how your congregation can get
involved in the Interfaith Coffee Program, visit http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith,
contact us at interfaith@equalexchange.com
or call 781-830-0303 x228.
==================
Equal Exchange Interfaith Program hiring
Due to our continued success and growth of the
Interfaith Coffee Program at Equal Exchange, we're pleased to announce
that we're hiring additional staff! Please circulate this job
opportunity at your place of worship, office, camp or retreat, seminary
or school, and to anyone who may be interested. The position will focus
on customer service to the Interfaith Program's customer base in
congregations, faith-based organizations and offices. Other
responsibilities include program development and events outreach.
Previous experience with customer service, basic word processing and
database programs, work with faith-based/social/environmental activism
preferred. Equal Exchange is an equal opportunity employer.
For application, send cover letter and resume to ecrowell@equalexchange.com
or Interfaith Program, Equal Exchange, 251 Revere St., Canton, MA 02021,
att: Interfaith Hiring Committee.
Interfaith Program description:
Equal Exchange's Interfaith Program works in
partnership with congregations and faith-based relief, development and
human rights organizations. Our mission is to introduce
communities of faith to the inequities of global trade, provide them
with the tools to discuss and understand these issues, and provide them
with an alternative in which they can participate directly. We
conduct direct outreach and provide educational materials to help
individuals spread the word about fair trade within their own
congregation and in their surrounding community.
Because
much of the program is partnership based, staff must be able to
represent both Equal Exchange and our interfaith partners.
Currently, the program includes formal partnerships with Lutheran World
Relief, the American Friends Service Committee, the Presbyterian Church
(USA), and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. To date
over 4,000 congregations have been involved in the program, purchasing
over 60 tons of fairly traded coffee in 2001.
=================
Equal Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program works in
partnership with communities of faith and faith-based organizations to
make a difference in the lives of small coffee farmers and their
families through Fair Trade. For more information, please contact
us or visit http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith.