More on Fair Trade Practices

Lately, I've been thinking about my goals and directions and why I do what I do and why do I choose fair trade. I choose fair trade as I know it best and I have seen the good works it has done to many and how it has changed the social aspect of global trading and has the biggest impact on the world of coffees.

"Fair trade coffee is coffee that is traded by bypassing the coffee trader and therefore giving the producer (and buyer) higher profits.

Economics of Fair Trade Coffee

Trans Fair USA is an independent 3rd party certification that ensures that:

• Coffee importers agree to purchase from the small farmers included in the International Fair Trade Coffee Register.

• Fair trade coffee growers are guaranteed a minimum "fair trade price" of $1.26/pound FOB for their coffee. If world coffee price rises above this floor price, fair trade coffee farmers will be paid a small ($0.05/pound) premium above market price.

• Coffee importers provide a certain amount of credit to farmers against future sales, helping farmers stay out of debt to local coffee "coyotes" or middlemen.

• Coffee importers and roasters agree to develop direct, long-term trade relationships with fair trade coffee distributors, thereby cutting out middlemen and bringing greater commercial stability to an extremely unstable market.

(Source: FairtradeUSA)

That was the beginning, the benchmark for an alternative business practice and now, Fair Trade has grown exponentially and many large corporations has since joined the ranks of purchasing fair trade. And there are critics contesting to its practices and if any real benefits are given to the pickers. There will always be issues. Especially when an organization gets big. It is hard to control and takes a lot of money to make a system workable. And it makes smaller importer like myself think if Big Guys are enjoying the labour of many purists and real fair traders.

Some has chosen to deal outside of Trans fair and some have joined other alliances and buy from different certification (i.e rainforest, COE, private certification, bird friendly, USDA Organic etc).

The more I see, the more I wonder if we will ever have a peaceful world; learning to live with each difference and what should be the real deal? Each criticism is good and necessary as it serves as a watchdog and make sure an organization is accountable to its practices.

To me, amongst all these certifications, believes and practices, it shows me people and the world are passionate on a good cause. We have ideals and we all think there is a better way. And there are. Definitely! There should be more than one way for world's reform. As long as two minds are working and thinking, there will be differences and people will take sides.

Call me idealistic or peace-maker. We should all work together toward better social reform. Better living conditions to the under-privileged, better environmental practices, working practices, education opportunities for the children and eradicate world's poverty. Be it fair trade or any other form of certifications, we should remember what is our bottom-line. How are we giving back to our communities and the world around us?

And one day, everything in the world will be fairly traded. If we are all on the same page. This is usually the problem isn't it?

We at T.A.N will continue to buy coffees that is fairly traded. Be it Fair Trade or otherwise.

Pardon me as I am not very eloquent in saying what I wanted to say. My brain travels faster than I can type. Most times, words get stuck and I can't get it out right.

p.s: I want to thank Paul for helping me to individually picked my beans apart for me. I accidentally mixed a batch of green beans to my roasted beans. I was in the midst of throwing it out when Paul stopped me and insisted he wanted to separate the beans. He came back this morning with bucket of sort beans. He and his wife spent the evening sorting the beans. What a guy! This is my community.

Pasta as Stir-Sticks

I am almost done changing the cafe. Roaster chimney install on Thursday - checked! New sign install on Fri or Mon - Checked! contractor quoting me on new windows -checked!, Cooperativas de Mujeres Artesanas de los Altos de Chiapas brought some items in - checked! Fair Trade clothing meeting - checked!, Fair Apparel meeting - checked! Back patio benches arrival- checked!, meeting with local Fair Trade chocolate maker, chocoland - checked! Confirmed packaging for teas/cocoa/coffee - checked!, Green beans arrival next week- checked! Meeting with the director of Threads of Wrath to be filmed in cafe and so on and on....

My day is brutal today! My goodness. Doing business ethically is not easy and a lot of research, reading and discussion. And lastly, it is not usually the cheapest. And it has to make sense.
So, when I was finally fed-up with using stir sticks (the last of the package I inherited from the last cafe) and customers telling me I can maybe try using linguine as stir-sticks (biodegradable), we got into an discussion. It is very preppy to use stir-sticks and some cafes are beginning to switch because it is environmental friendly but to me, it is food! To me, it is wasteful. Some people are lacking food yet I am using pasta as stir sticks. Wheat prices are on the raise and in some countries, wheat is scare!

Do we actually question things? In this case using pasta as stir sticks or are we caught up in all the nice marketing and brainwashed with the term "environmental friendly" and "biodegradable"? Just because someone say it is environmental or the packaging say biodegradable. Are we actually knowledgeable enough to understand what does that mean? Sometimes, we went to extreme measures not because it is actually good for mother earth but because it is hip! There is nothing wrong with being hip but we need to understand what we do and ask ourselves why do we do it?

When I decide to buy local (as much as I possibly can), be as green, as organic and healthier as I can in my products, I get deeper into mud. Issues pertaining our world, our connections to each other and globalization stare me straight in my face. I need an education. It helped me decide on topics and forums I wish to host in the cafe. I hope by understanding more, we can make decision clearly and not wrapped in pretty marketing bullshit.

Come tomorrow, I will start using spoons and not stir sticks at the condiment table. Something I have been wanting to do since Day 1.

And so, the cafe hopes to screen the move "Threads of Wrath" at end of June and also in July, we will have a forum on "Globalization and its effects on us". A forum with all my suppliers - dialogue on why we do what we do. All of them have signed up!
And we will have a party. We will mix seriousness with double amount of fun :)

Give me a shot of tequila!

Presenting Coffee

Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world yet it continues to be a market lacking improvements and knowledge to those who cultivate it. Most farmers do not know anything about how the market is operated, do not know the value of coffee and do not have any idea the prices coffee is fetching.

On the other hand, till recent years, not much was taught about coffee to the customers as well. Till a bunch of coffee connoisseurs broke into the market and make coffee a premium product - appreciated just like wine. There became a specialty market for gourmet coffee and smaller micro roaster popping up and specialize in roasting coffee in small batches, to its best quality. If you have yet the chance to know the difference; I beg you to find a local micro roaster and learn the differences in each variety of coffee and regions where coffee comes from. Learn how different roasting affects the chemistry of coffee and how coffee is best cup fresh.

The more I learned about coffee, the more I realized there is more to it. From the land to the trees; the flowers to the fruit and the hands that picked it. Then there is the milling, the roasting, the cupping, the technical aspect of pulling a great shot. All in all, a lot of things go into the cup before it reaches into your hands.

Now, when I pull a shot of espresso, its like a Holy Grail to me.

(these photographs are taken from a farm from my recent visit to El Salvador)

Is Fair Trade beneficial?

I remembered a conversation I had with one of the farmer from Guatamala last year. I remembered our discussions on how fair trade is giving the local community a chance to help themselves and also create a foundation for self sustainability. I remember his passion when he mentioned how some innocent farmers were in harm's way when they try to help themselves. To some farmers out there, they do pay a price to fight for their rights. Some sacrifice their lives to achieve the right to farm, right to have a fair and just existent side by side us.

8 months later, I opened my own fair trade cafe. I sell mainly fair trade coffees and I am passionate about social justices and how I through my cafe can contribute to a fairer way of trading and business operation.
Since the fair trade movement and the push by masses, coffee prices has risen and this in return allow farmers to work in their land and not travel over to North America and work in factory or grow narcotics on their farms.

Fair trade is a movement, its a conscious decision on how we consume, where we consume and consciously thinking of how our actions affected others locally and globally. The world is no longer as separated as we think it to be.

Fair trade started as a very noble effort to help support farmers be self sustainable. Now, fair trade has slowly gone mainstream. Many coffee shops have since opened and sell fair trade coffees, teas, sugars and cocao. And in return, it has gotten fair trade a bad rep. Saying it no longer is a social justice effort but became commerical. Even Walmart sells fair trade coffees now. Is it bad?

I can go on a separate discussion on this but we have to look at the positive side. As long as the farmers are promised a fair price for their coffees, they should be allowed to trade with anyone they desire. - its call progressive. As long as everything is traded fairly to the farmers; if they have already learned to understand market prices and already learned how to defend for themselves and learned the skills of trading - then no one can take advantage of them. And they can go on and become successful and run a successful co-op. Isn't this what we are all aiming for?

We use the free market ground to sell fair trade products, hoping to make fair trade equal to that of any merchandise on the market. Fair trade products should be competitive, should be of quality but most importantly, we hope the mass market has learned to raise the bar of what is fair, what is just and what it is to treat others and the earth with respect. Then fair trade has done its job!