Fair Trade News

Run Across Ethiopia

A jog across the cradle of civilization to support childhood education

CoopSol AGM 2010

From January 15th to the 21st, several of Coop Coffees' members and producer partners convened in Peru for meetings and field visits during Coop Sol's 2010 annual assembly. Despite a grueling schedule (so much to do in one short week!), unexpected road blocks and run-ins with the police, everyone who participated came away with a better understanding of what fair trade truly is and should continue to be on the ground, with our partners, and within our coop.

Higher Grounds explores FT olive oil

The world of Fair Trade just keeps on growing...and getting tastier! In a recent trip to Palestine, Higher Grounds' Chris Treter explored the ins and outs of Fair Trade olive oil that is being produced by over 1,700 small farmers in the regions of Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin. By empowering rural communities through traditional farming methods and sustainable trade partnerships, Fair Trade olive oil is slowly but surely making a difference in the lives of Palestinian farmers.

Cafe Campesino spreads to Atlanta!

It's an exciting time for Cafe Campesino -- and for all the Atlanta folk that will benefit! -- as they expand beyond Americus city limits and open a new coffeehouse in Atlanta! "Sweet Auburn" officially opened Oct. 31 but the grand opening celebration took place November 14th and was an opportunity to bring together Café Campesino friends from across the state and expose Atlanta coffee enthusiasts to Georgia’s first 100% fair trade coffee company.

Quality Control in Oaxaca

Cooperative Coffees roasters and producer organizations from across Mexico gather together from Sept 4 - 11, 2009 under the umbrella of the Catholic Relief CAFE Livelihoods project in Oaxaca to discuss and experience first hand the challenges around producing consistently high quality coffee.

Coop Coffees AGM 2009

This year, the Coop Coffees crowd headed down to the land of taco stands, cowboy boots, and…BATS for our cooperative’s annual general assembly. Member-roaster Third Coast Coffee in Austin, Texas graciously hosted nearly 40 roasters and staff for a weekend of meetings, workshops, cuppings...and lots of coffee breaks.

Market Challenges (and Solutions) in Nicaragua

As part of the ongoing CRS project "CAFE Livelihoods," three representatives from Coop Coffees -- Bill Harris, Tripp Pomeroy of Cafe Campesino, and Chris Treter of Higher Grounds -- spent a week in Nicaragua facilitating and participating in workshops on market management and commercialization in the coffee industry. They worked alongside 5 different cooperatives which included CC producer partners. Below is a trip report by Chris Treter, roaster-member and participant in the CRS Project.

Coop Sol opens its doors to the Green Team

In a short but productive weekend, Coop Coffees' Green Committee met in the new office space and site of the coop's future quality control lab to discuss pressing green bean issues and evaluate the next steps in getting the internal lab established.

Coop Sol comes out of the "closet"!

After years of small-but-steady steps forward (and the useful power of positive thinking), Coop Coffees’ sister coop in Montreal la Cooperative de Solidarite du Cafe Equitable “CoopSol” has moved beyond our former “closet-sized” office and into our current office “compound” – or, as we like to call it, “Labo Equitable” (The Fair Trade Lab Experiment)!

World Fair Trade Day reaches thousands!

Every year, Fair Traders all over the world join forces for "World Fair Trade Day." This year, May 9 was the special day and the Fair Trade Resource Network worked very hard to organize and promote the largest FT Coffee Break in North America. They surpassed their lofty goal of 55,000 participants and successfully reached thousands of consumers all over the continent! Congratulations FTRN and keep up the good work!

Peace Coffee launches mapmybeans.com

A key principle of Fair Trade is traceability; the consumer should be able to follow the path of a delicious cup of joe, bar of chocolate, or sprinkle of sugar back to the farm and coop behind the product. Peace Coffee recently launched a bright, fun, user-friendly website for people to dig deeper into their daily brew and learn about where the coffee comes from and who produces it.

FTF Conference Highlights

The annual Fair Trade Federation conference offers an excellent opportunity for members of the North American FT movement and their international partners/allies to exchange useful experiences and information. This year's conference was particularly special as FTF launches into its 15th year anniversary in 2009! CoopSol's intern, Sophie Verdon was able to get the scoop in an interview with Carmen Iezzi, Exec. Dir of FTF.

Cooperative Coffees joins hands with the Art Miles Mural Project

In March, roaster-member Amavida participated in an international, 9-years-running peace project called the Art Miles Mural Project in which communities -- and children in particular -- are encouraged to create peace through art, namely through mural-painting. This year, the organization that runs the project chose the Seaside community, home to Amavida, to host the event. After a trip to Chiapas, Amavida delivered several murals produced by producer partner Maya Vinic's children. Read Dan Bailey's summary of the event below!

IFAT becomes WFTO

During the IFAT annual general assembly held in Sri Lanka in October 2008, the decision was made by a 91% majority to change the organization's name to World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). The following article appears on the WFTO's newly revamped website in February and the organization will be in a period of transition over the next several months.

BALLE 2009 Conference

The 7th annual BALLE conference is the place for independent business owners, social entrepreneurs, and all those interested in building strong local economies to discover and discuss how local, independent businesses will shape and influence the new economy. The 2009 BALLE conference will showcase the many ways that local networks of independent businesses are already building the next North American economy; one that is local, green, and fair.

CC partners with CRS

Coop Coffees ally and Fair Trade supporter, Catholic Relief Services has officially launched a "Coffee Livelihoods" program that will incorporate several producer coops -- including some of our partners -- in Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. The project entails a series of tecnical and management training workshops that will take place over the course of the next 3 years. Coop Coffees, along with social lender and ally Root Capital, will help facilitate several of these workshops.

2009: A Year of Challenge and a Year of Hope

The New Year tends to conjure great expectations. And while recent, dreary economic news has most people wondering – even fearing – what lies in store for 2009, we at Cooperative Coffees see positive signals ahead. Of course, 2009 will be filled with many challenges – not unlike the last 10 years of Cooperative Coffees’ existence! Our history gives us (realistic) hope that this year will be as successful as the others!

CLAC 2008 Assembly

More than 300 producer delegates and observers from 25 countries celebrated together the Third Bi-Annual CLAC Assembly – held this year in Antigua, Guatemala October 28 - 29, 2008. CLAC – the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Small-Scale Fair Trade Producers – is an association of 300 farmer associations representing some 250,000 men and women working to promote sustainable development through Fair Trade in 20 Latin American countries.

CoopCoffees' AGM 2008

Roaster members and staff of Cooperative Coffees gathered at Higher Grounds’ recently inaugerated café and roastery in the beautiful lakeside town of Traverse City, Michigan from Oct 2 - 5 for the Annual General Meeting of Members. The three-day weekend was action-packed with coffee cupping, discussion and debate around the internal politics of pricing and positions within Fair Trade, as well as clarifying the functions and responsabilities of staff and member alike.

USFT 2008 International Convergence

The Convergence is an opportunity for students, producers, educators, vendors, and other players in the fair trade movement to come together and share knowledge, experiences, and ideas. This year’s Convergence will have a strong focus on taking the Fair Trade movement forward—both the movement as a whole and the student movement in particular. The concept behind “taking it forward” is to inspire student activists to challenge the Fair Trade movement to continue evolving by creating new goals and new interpretations of what Fair Trade is and should be.

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