Fair-trade Coffee

We recently offered pointers for those who want to order Fair Trade coffee for Christmas gifts. And we asked others to add their suggestions. Here's what we've received:

From Jane Hanna, former Witherspoon president:

I would point out to people that the Presbyterian Hunger Program is sponsoring Equal Exchange as a Presbyterian Coffee Project. Tea is also available. Our church now serves it during the coffee hour and twice a month some of us take turns selling it. Quite a few people are responding.

Laura Sugg adds:

Please highlight the PCUSA's own way to order fair trade coffee. See this PCUSA web site: http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/hunger/coffee/

Another option is offered by Tom Liddle:

I'd suggest encouraging people to buy fair traded, organic coffee from East Timor - the world's newest nation and one struggling to find markets for its most common export. Find out how at www.etan-seattle.org.

We just received this query from a visitor:

I'm looking for an e-address for ordering fair trade coffee for Christmas presents. Thanks

Your WebWeaver's response:

If you go to http://store.yahoo.com/equalexchange/ you'll find more information, but they only accept wholesale orders.

With a little searching I've found a site where you can place retail orders: http://store.yahoo.com/eeretail/index.html

We hope that helps!!

You can check out our earlier reports below, on the Equal Exchange movement for fair trade.

If you can suggest other good Fair Trade sites for Christmas shopping, please send a note!

Nicaraguan coffee farmers thank PC(USA) for fair trade deal

by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service

[10-30-02]

LOUISVILLE -- October 25, 2002 -- The world coffee market has not been kind to the farmers of Miraflor in Nicaragua's central highlands.

Already the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, Nicaragua and its coffee growers have been particularly hard hit by the collapse of coffee prices, which have fallen 70 percent in the last five years.

But in the last three years, a cooperative of small farmers and community organizers in Miraflor have found an unlikely partner in their struggle for economic survival -- the Presbyterian Church (USA).

On Oct. 23, two Miraflor leaders visited the Presbyterian Center here to tell their story and thank the PC(USA) for its participation in the revitalization of their community through the Presbyterian Coffee Project.

Launched at last year's General Assembly, the coffee project is part of the denomination's Enough for Everyone anti-hunger campaign. In partnership with Equal Exchange -- a 15-year-old fair trade organization -- the Presbyterian Coffee Project encourages congregations and other entities to purchase their coffee from farmers' cooperatives like Miraflor at a guaranteed price that is roughly three times the current world market price.

In 2001 alone, Equal Exchange paid more than $960,000 to small farmer coops in above-market premiums. Currently, nearly 1,000 Presbyterian congregations, presbyteries and the Presbyterian Center purchase their coffee from Equal Exchange.

"I admire the Presbyterian Church's concern and relationship with Equal Exchange," said Porfirio Zepeda Arana, general manager of the Miraflor cooperative. "Our people have better living conditions because they are getting a better price and they can plan for their future because they know their coffee is going to be bought."

Coop members agree to contribute 3 percent of their income to health and education programs in Miraflor, said Elim Gutierrez Blandon, a member of a women's group that addresses health and nutrition needs in the community.

One hundred percent of the "premium" -- the difference between the world market price (which fluctuates between 40 and 60 cents a pound) and the Equal Exchange guaranteed price of $1.26 -- goes to the school in Miraflor.

While some farmers stay out of the coop because of its financial demands and organic-growing requirements, 80 percent of Miraflor's farmers participate in the cooperative. All of the community programs sponsored by the coop are available to all of Miraflor's citizens, Blandon told the Presbyterian News Service.

The coffee income guaranteed by the Equal Exchange partnership has also enabled Miraflor's farmers to diversify. Combining coffee growing with the cultivation of avocadoes, bananas and oranges has contributed to soil enrichment and provided additional income to Miraflor's farmers.

The Presbyterian Coffee Project has fostered a spiritual as well as economic tie between the people of Miraflor and Presbyterians in the U.S., Arana said. "Our community is very religious so we'd like a stronger relationship with your church," he said, "particularly youth exchanges and visits between our women."

For more information about the Presbyterian Coffee Project and other efforts of the Enough for Everyone program, contact Melanie Hardison by phone at 888-728-7228, ext. 5626 or by email at mhardiso@ctr.pcusa.org. 

For more information about Equal Exchange, contact Erbin Crowell by phone at 781-830-0303, ext. 228 or by email at ecrowell@equalexchange.com. 

Information is also available on the Presbyterian Hunger Program website: www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/hunger/coffee.

Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle has forwarded this note from the Latin America Working Group

[10-25-02]

The coffee that many people brew each morning provides a livelihood for 25 million people worldwide. While the growth of Starbucks may suggest that coffee consumption has been growing, in fact Americans are drinking far less coffee than thirty years ago, with competition from soft drinks.

The lag in demand, combined with other factors--the disintegration of a coffee agreement among major countries, the emergence of Vietnam as a major coffee producer, and the consolidation of the market in the hands of four major companies--has resulted in a drop of coffee revenues for producers. In three years prices have dropped by almost 50 percent and are now at a 30-year low.

Small farmers in many Latin American countries suffer returns that fall short of their production costs. One way to help address the crisis is through support of fair trade coffee. The Fair Trade campaign pays farmers $1.26 per pound (the major companies pay producers in some areas receive 50 cents or less for a pound of coffee, while production costs can be as high as 80 cents a pound).

A resolution introduced by Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Sam Farr (D- CA) recommends that the federal government purchase only fair trade coffee and inform the public about the importance of fair trade. The resolution needs widespread public support. Call your representative at the Congressional switchboard 202/224-3121) and ask him or her to support H.R. 491. For updates you can check the website of the Latin America Working Group, <www.lawg.org>.

[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

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A pilgrimage to the coffee lands

by Jill Wenke, Interfaith Liaison

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.

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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.

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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.

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