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Tsunami Relief
TransFair USA works with 49 Fair Trade cooperatives in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and we share the grief felt around the world for those affected by the tsunami disaster in South Asia. To learn more about how some of our Fair Trade partners are responding, click here.
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Stories about Fair Trade
Stories about Fair Trade Certified products and our clients who sell them continue to percolate in the media. Fair Trade bananas made an appearance in the ever-exciting Produce News (01/26/2005), while FTC coffee grown by Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda showed up in the Miami Herald. USA today ran an article on Fair Trade chocolate just in time for Valentine’s Day and Fair Trade tea was mentioned in a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
On the broadcast side, TransFair’s CEO Paul Rice and Board Chairman Tom Bullock lit up the air waves with a series of radio interviews that aired on 12 stations across the country in January, including WOHI AM in Ohio, WACK AM in New York, and KLKS in Minnesota. Several of the shows were syndicated. |
Fair Trade plays big in Specialty Coffee Event
TransFair is busy coordinating the participation of over 80 Fair Trade producers from at least 30 organizations in 13 countries in the annual Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Conference in Seattle this March. By participating in this high-profile industry trade show, small-scale producers increase their understanding of the US specialty coffee market and have the opportunity to establish relationships with large buyers. If you’re in the Seattle area, feel free to stop by our Fair Trade Forum on Friday, April 14 from 11am – 5pm. Contact Deborah Hirsh at TransFair USA to RSVP! |
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TransFair USA wins Fast Company Award
On January 13 in NYC, TransFair USA CEO Paul Rice was joined by VP for Policy & Development Martha Jimenez and Development Manager Heather Franzese in receiving Fast Company magazine / Monitor Group’s 2005 Social Capitalist Award. Fast Company recognized 25 organizations for their entrepreneurial and innovative work. TransFair and fellow winner Verité were also honored the following day at a reception at ABC Carpet & Home attended by licensees, funders, board members, and allies. TransFair is grateful to the Rudolf Steiner Foundation for its role in coordinating the festivities!
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TransFair is also grateful for continued support for Fair Trade work from the Ford Foundation, TAUPO Community Fund, and Thayer Bland Charitable Trust, as well as new support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Banky LaRocque Foundation.
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Students Converge on Chicago
United Students for Fair Trade (USFT) is organizing the 2nd Annual National Convergence in Chicago, February 18 – 21. The convergence will bring together over 300 producers, student organizers, and Fair Trade leaders to strategize, learn, and build relationships. Students will deepen their understanding of the Fair Trade movement and return to their campuses and their communities to take action. Look for TransFair in several workshops including "Fair Trade 101" and "Fair Trade Banana's and the Union movement" Click here to learn more.
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And other Student News…
At the University of Arizona Fair Trade is hot! Last fall Students for Fair Trade collected over 900 signatures and got the support of campus dining services. They are currently negotiating to get more Fair Trade coffee, tea, fruit and chocolate on campus. To read more click here> and here>
Join the Fair Trade Hotline with USFT, Oxfam America, and Transfair USA, a NEW monthly hour-long call-in to share questions and collective expertise regarding Fair Trade campus organizing. Contact Jean Walsh at TransFair USA to RSVP for the next call.
Coming soon… Groovy “I heart Fair Trade!” T-shirt iron-ons and Santiago’s Story Fair Trade documentary on DVD. Contact Jean Walsh to order!
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“Check out Fair Trade” (the campaign) continues…
Oxfam America, Co-op America, the Fair Trade Resource Network and United Students for Fair Trade collaborated to sponsor the November 20 Day of Action in Boston, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. It was a high point in a campaign to get supermarkets to carry and promote Fair Trade products. Dozens of Fair Trade organizers collected hundreds of requests from shoppers who wanted their supermarkets to stock more Fair Trade Certified™ products. Other results: 6000 letters to supermarkets, as Oxfam’s Check Out Fair Trade campaign continues to call on consumers to pressure local supermarkets to stock Fair Trade Certified™ products and display and market them prominently. Click here to stay up to date and do your part: Oxfam America, Co-op America.
Save the Date! World Fair Trade Day is Saturday, May 14, 2005, and this years' theme is "Fair Trade is Peace". The goals of World Fair Trade Day are to increase consumer involvement in Fair Trade and connect the U.S. movement to the larger global movement. Last year 50 US cities celebrated World Fair Trade Day, and with YOUR help this year promises to be even better. Organize an event in your community! You can order a resource kit including full-color posters, a CD of Fair Trade information and organizing materials, and other goodies from the Fair Trade Resource Network. Contact info@fairtraderesource.org. |
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Increasing Market Access
TransFair’s Producer Relations Department was pleased to host four representatives from Fair Trade cooperatives in the US last fall. Two members of PRODECOOP (Nicaragua) conducted a sales tour to California where they met with US coffee buyers. Representatives from FEDECARES (Dominican Republic) and FEDECOCAGUA (Guatemala) participated in a sales tour in December, where they met with current and potential importers and roasters in California and Oregon. All four producers visited the TransFair USA office in Oakland, California and gave presentations to staff about the relationship between Fair Trade and their respective organizations and countries.
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FEDECOCAGUA, Guatemala
Established in 1969, FEDECOCAGUA is a cooperative organization with 20,000 members. Seventy percent are members of indigenous groups from different regions of Guatemala, including Huehuetenango, Cobán, Verapaces, Retalhuleu, San Marcos, and Zacapa. With proceeds from the Fair Trade price, the co-op has constructed a new dry mill for specialty coffee and a cupping lab. The co-op has also implemented a micro-credit and pre-financing program, financed community healthcare centers and local pharmacies, and constructed new schools and provided scholarships to children of co-op members.
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FEDECOCAGUA continues to lend support to the “María Auxiliadora Weavers Club,” a group of women weavers who have exported their handmade crafts to Europe, greatly benefiting the children from Patzún, Chimaltenango.
“Prior to selling our coffee at the Fair Trade price, we did not have much of a chance to survive. Now we see the light at the end of the tunnel.” --Marcos M. Pérez, FEDECOCAGUA |
FEDECARES, Dominican Republic
FEDECARES was founded in 1985 to improve quality of life, promote sustainable development, and eliminate dependence on intermediaries in the conventional market. Since becoming Fair Trade certified in 1992, FEDECARES has used revenue from its Fair Trade sales to purchase wet and dry processing equipment, implement a micro-credit program to support farmers during the difficult parts of the growing season, and help farmers market their coffee. In addition, the organization has built community healthcare centers, provides necessary medicine to its members, offers scholarships to members’ children and runs an adult literacy program.
“Before we discovered Fair Trade, I worked myself to exhaustion with no gain. Once FEDECARES began to sell my coffee at the Fair Trade price my situation changed. Now my three sons are in high school, and I want to continue to sell my coffee at the Fair Trade price so that they can all get a university education. --Feliciano Lara Santana, FEDECARES |
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| This rap was performed live by two talented 10-year-olds during a recent TransFair USA visit to Jinotega, Nicaragua. |
Tenemos el producto de la riqueza
Todos lo conocemos por su naturaleza
El café es la fuente de la producción
Si quieres negociarlo te daré una razón
Por los mejores precios nos caracterisamos
Y con los productores siempre vamos de la mano
COMANUR* es la empresa que quiere ayudarte
Aprobarte a tí crédito y de la ruina sacarte
Te estamos comprando tu café de calidad
Nuestro presidente es Don Luis Kuant
Que hace que estemos bien organizados
Verificando que tu café esté en buen estado
Hey amigo que me estás escuchando
Tu nueva solución te vengo mencionando
COMANUR se llama y te brinda la mano
Para que tú no caigas y te sigas superando
Solo café es nuestro beneficio
Que viene pensando en todo los principios
Negociando tu café con otros países
Para tener buenos precios y calidad con raíces
COMANUR está en El Cua
COMANUR está en El Cua
Y todo tu café lo quiere administrar
Con CECOCAFEN que te quiere ayudar.
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We have the product to help you get ahead
We all know it by its nature
Coffee is the source of production
If you don’t think that, I’ll give you a reason.
We are known for the best prices
And we walk hand-in-hand with the producers
COMANUR is the one that wants to help you
Get you credit and save you from ruin.
We buy quality coffee
Our president is Don Luis Kuant
Who keeps us well organized
Verifying that your coffee is in good shape.
Hey, Friend, you that’s listening to me
I’m telling you about a new solution
COMANUR is our name and we offer you a hand
So
you won’t fail and will continue doing well.
Only coffee is our best bet
You should think about all your principles
As you try to sell your coffee to other countries
To get good prices and lasting quality.
COMANUR is in El Cua
COMANUR is in El Cua
And wants to handle all your coffee
Through CECOCAFEN, who wants to help you.
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| *COMANUR is a cooperative within CECOCAFEN, an association of Nicaraguan co-ops. |
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