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May 2009
A Cooperative Coffees e-Newsletter for and about Fair Trade
Issue No. 12 May 2009
In this issue...
Reach out!
Spring is a busy season for both coffee and Fair Trade...which makes it extra busy for CoopCoffees and Company! Between the SCAA, a number of producer tours and World Fair Trade Day... our members, partners and friends had more logistics to plan and events to attend than they knew what to do with! Luckily, "busy-ness" in this business doesn't come without a good dose of fun along with it!
Speaking of fun, Coop Coffees had the pleasure of hosting 75 of our favorite Fair Trade members and friends to celebrate 10 years of history in-the-making at CoopCoffees's hometown, Americus GA. The event followed the largest specialty coffee conference of the year and offered the perfect post-SCAA "southern retreat" for all! Following the celebration, several roasters and producer representatives continued on with tours of Nashville, Louisville, Raleigh, Gainesville, Santa Rosa Beach and...last but not least, Whitehorse in the northern province of Yukon, Canada! Its visits like these -- where consumers meet producers and vice versa -- that make Fair Trade a truly unique way to do business!
Following up on another Fair Trade encounter, Florent Gout completes his report on theCoopCoffees Colombia visit - where he met producers from our parnter groups Fondo Paez and Ocamonte.
In mainstream news, Fair Trade is making headlines as large companies like Cadbury begin to incorporate Fair Trade purchasing into their business, raising the debate once more on the presence (and their potential influence) of corporate multinationals in Fair Trade. As the movement faces issues like this, its up to associations like Fair Trade Federation (FTF) and their members, to stand by and strengthen the principles of Fair Trade -- something that the newly elected Board of Directors at FTF appears eager to do!
As you will see, April was an active month indeed, in our world of Fair Trade! Stay tuned for next month's report of World Fair Trade Day!
Enjoy your read!
Let us know what changes you'd like to see in this newsletter by emailing us at bignews@coopcoffees.com.
Outreach and Special Projects
Southern-style celebration of 10 successful years!
 | There's one more SCAA under our belt! This year, the event happened in Atlanta and brought together the usual suspects: everyone and anyone involved in the specialty coffee world. Following SCAA mayhem, Coop Coffees members, partners, and friends rode 3 hours, caravan-style, to Americus, Georgia for day of productive meetings, useful exchanges, and a fabulously fun soiree! A true celebration for all! |
Roaster News
Bongo Java, Heine Brothers' and Larry's Beans host Maria Isabel of FEDECARES
| After spending time with the Coop Coffees gang at the kick-off of our 10-year anniversary in Americus, Maria Isabel Balbuena of FEDECARES traveled to Nashville to begin a week-long tour of Bongo Java, Heine Brothers' Coffee in Louisville, and Larry's Beans in Raleigh. Miguel Martinez of Fondo Paez joined her for the part at Bongo Java. The visit was truly a "success" in that it provided another wonderful opportunity for coffee consumers to connect with a representative of coffee producers and have a whole lot of fun doing so! |
Sweetwater and Amavida give Miguel of Manos Campesinas a whirlwind tour!
| With an early departure the morning after Coop Coffees' 10 year celebration in Americus, Miguel Mateo, Tripp, and Dave of Cafe Campesino took a road trip to Gainesville, FL for a tour of our most recently-added member Sweetwater. Miguel helped Tripp sample coffee and speaking with college students at the University of FL Gainesville's Earth Day event. After spending a bit of time with the folks at the roastery, Miguel headed eastward to finish up his tour in Santa Rosa Beach. As usual, Amavida organized several engaging activities for Miguel including radio shows, talks to Spanish classes at a local school, and cafe presentations. |
Producer News
Santiago Paz of CEPICAFE explores the Great North of Canada
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| Muskox, caribou, elk, bison, and moose -- I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore! And even farther from Piura, Peru, the home city of Santiago Paz who left in mid-April to catch the annual SCAA, and then to fly up to Whitehorse, Yukon to spend several days with Coop Coffees' northern-most roaster, Bean North. With a couple quick detours to Montreal and Toronto beforehand, Santiago's brief Canadian tour ended in a couple feet of snow and with extremely grateful company! |
New producer profile: COMUS, El Salvador
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| La Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades Unidas de Usulután or COMUS began as an organized, grassroots response to the lack of governmental services during and after the Salvadoran civil war in the late '80s, early '90s. It continues to offer services to a number of communities in the southeastern department of Usulután for health, education, infrastructure and production. Among the variety of programs available to members, assistance in coffee production has become one of the coop's stable projects. Coop Coffees became acquainted with the group on a recent delegation for the CRS CAFE Livelihoods project and will be importing coffee from them in 2009. |
Travel: Where in the world is CoopCoffees?
Florent's first trip to Colombia, Part II: Ocamonte, a true Fair Trade "success story"
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| In a follow-up on the trip report he wrote for the March newsletter, Florent Gout from the Green Desk in Montreal completes his tales of the February journey to Colombia with staff from Coop Coffees and Cafe Campesino. This month, he writes about APCO -- a recent addition to Coop Coffees' Colombian sourcing partners. Located in central-eastern Colombia along the eastern "cordillera" (mountain range), this coop is a true Fair Trade "success story" as you will see from Florent's report! |
The Latest in the Fair Trade Movement
NPR's Morning Edition features Fair Trade!
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| It's not often that Fair Trade takes the spotlight in mainstream news and media. On April 20, NPR broadcasted a short report about Fair Trade on their popular program "Morning Edition." After recent announcements from chocolate kings Mars and Cadbury that they will buy cocoa sourced with "certain environmental and labor standards" in practice, NPR examines the movement and its potential -- and increasinly controversial -- drive into more mass-marketed arenas. |
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| Earlier in May, the Fair Trade Federation -- an association of dedicated Fair Trade organizations in North America -- held elections for their 2009 Board of Directors. They've posted the results and we're thrilled to see that Coop Coffees' own Monika Firl will be joining the other new and remaining members for what will surely be a productive and collaborative year of Fair Trade! |
