Fair Trade Producers from around the world
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Cloudforest Initiatives is a small group of people, with quite limited means, who are carrying out some ambitious dreams. They have created a non-profit organization committed to assisting and supporting the efforts for peace, justice and integral development of the Maya communities of Chiapas.
This coffee is produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides, and it is "bird friendly"grown in the shade, so valuable trees are not sacrificed to its production.
The producers of the Mut Vitz cooperative are "autonomous," meaning they have declared their right to govern themselves according to indigenous laws and customs. Working collectively, they are seeking to resolve social, political, and economic problems through creative, sustainable initiatives.
Cloudforest Coffee partners with the autonomous Maya communities of Chiapas, and is committed to assisting and supporting their efforts for peace, justice and integral development.
Read an interview with Lucio Gonzalez Ruiz of the Mut Vitz Coffee Cooperative.
Watch the video produced by the members of the Mut Vitz Cooperative: The Strength of the Indigenous People of Mut Vitz: Producing Fair Trade Organic Coffee in the Highlands of Chiapas"
Besides only roasting organic and Kosher coffees, Dean's Beans only purchases beans from small farmers and cooperatives (largely made up of indigenous peoples working hard to maintain their culture and lifestyles) and importers that are committed to Fair Trade. They are working towards better economic opportunity, as well as improved health and nutrition for the people of their villages. Dean's Beans does not buy beans from large estates and farms.
They promote local empowerment and self-reliance through their purchases and work with local grassroots development and human rights groups. Dean's Beans also sponsors projects in the US with disenfranchised communities such as Native Americans, the homeless and disabled, and many other groups trying to improve their lives and communities. Planting, care, harvesting and processing of the beans is done in conformity with international standards keeping in mind the health of the farmer and his environment, as well as the high quality of the bean. Every cup you drink and every pound you buy contributes directly to the welfare of coffee growers.
Sumatran is a classic Mandheling, grown in the Takengon highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia; much of it in the buffer zone surrounding Gunung Leuser National Park. The growers are part of two groups; the Gayo Mountain group (the oldest organic group in Indonesia) and a new organic farmer group organized by YPSI (an indigenous social foundation) with the assistance of ForesTrade. The coffee is a fair trade, shade grown, and certified organic coffee grown on small, shaded plots of 3-5 acres at over 1100 meters, and sun dried on raised drying tables. A Coffee Kids project in the area organized by Dean brought potable, running water to over 1,500 villagers. The coffee is certified organic by SKAL, a respected Netherlands organization. Sumatran beans are a singularly full, heavy-bodied coffee, very low in acidity. It is a very hard bean that holds its characteristics deep into the dark roast stage. Sumatran beans are used it in Sumatran French Roast and Moka Sumatra.
Nicaraguan coffee is certified fair trade, certified organic, shade-grown in the Esteli area, which continues to be a stronghold of Sandinista support. The growers managing cooperative, PRODECOOP, is made up of forty or so producer coops, many of whom are farmers displaced by the war and now resettled on the large landholdings of former Somoza supporters. The coffee is Strictly High Grown (SHG) above 1100 meters on small plots that are often communally owned. The large bean delivers a smooth, full taste with complex aroma. There is a slightly dry cocoa taste that comes out in the dark roast. Nicaraguan beans are used in Uprising! Breakfast Blend and Moka Sumatra.
Peruvian Organic comes from the Puno region of southeastern Peru, near the Bolivian border. The coffee is grown at 1200-1500 meters above sea level in the shadows of the Tambopata forest reserve. Grown on small farms of 3-5 hectares each, with the growers organized into a cooperative which pools the coffee together for preparation and export. Harvest period is roughly from April through July. This is a fair trade, shade grown coffee and certified organic by the OCIA. The coffee is well prepared with good bean size, and in the cup it is well bodied with good acidity and sweet flavor. Peruvian beans are used in Uprising! Breakfast Blend and Rattlesnake Brew.
Guatemalan coffee is grown on the 5,000 foot high slopes of the high volcanoes that surround Lake Atitlan, an area often called "the heart of the Mayan empire". It is produced by two grower groups made up of indigenous Tzutzuil peoples from Santiago Atitlan and San Juan La Laguna. These people have maintained their culture and traditional dress in spite of centuries of political and social pressure to assimilate, and they have paid a high price for their beliefs. The coffee is certified organic, certified fair trade, and fully shade grown, and the farmers are very conscious of the importance of shade as an ecological niche for migratory songbirds, for the health of the soil, and for the additional sustenance the hardwoods and fruit trees provide their families. Dean has worked for six years in the villages through Coffee Kids to bring microcredit and health promotion projects to the communities. The Guatemalan coffee is a small dark green bean that is SHB (strictly hard bean), fully washed and sun-dried. It is medium body, acidic with a smoky flavor. Guatemalan beans are used in the Bird Watcher's Blend and Rattlesnake Brew.
Dean's Beans roasts two types of Mexican coffee from the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. The coffees are certified organic, fair trade, and shade grown. Both coffees are grown by indigenous cooperative farmers struggling to maintain their identities. The Oaxacan are Alturas (grown over 1100 meters) around the renown Pluma region and named after the indigenous groups that grow them (e.g. Mixteca and Putla). The farmers are members of the CEPCO cooperative alliance. The Chiapas coffee comes from Mut Vitz, an indigenous cooperative trying hard to support themselves amidst the violence and disruption of life in Chiapas. Currently, all indigenous organizations in Chiapas are under suspicion and pressure from the federal government, making it difficult to work in the fields, process and sell their coffees. Both beans are large and smooth, making for easy roasting. They have excellent aroma, medium body with slight acidity; mellow coffee with a softly sweet flavor. Mexican beans are used in Aztec Two-Step.
Tierra Madre (Mother Earth) was the first certified organic coffee grown in Costa Rica. The growers utilize a combination of organic growing practices, such as composting, mulching, biological insect control and shade canopies to produce this sought-after coffee. The coffee comes from a collective of thirty farmers working the land in the best growing regions in Costa Rica - Tarrazu, Tres Rios and Meseta Central. Due to the different soils and growing conditions among these regions our coffee is extremely complex, yet well-balanced in terms of body and acidity. Costa Rican Tierra Madre is used in Italian Espresso Roast, Full Moon (light and dark), and in Uprising! Breakfast Blend.
Equal Exchange is a fair trade organic gourmet coffee company based in Massachusetts. They are the leaders in bringing international Fair Trade standards into the US coffee market. Equal Exchange works with democratically-run farmers organizations that share profits equally among the members to make sure that the individual farmer's basic costs are being covered.
Coffee is so popular that it is the second most widely traded commodity in the world after oil. We in the US are the largest consumers of coffee, importing over 20% of the world's coffee production. But despite the overwhelming popularity of coffee, many of the nearly 20 million people involved in growing our beans live in extreme poverty in some of the poorest countries in the world, such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru and Tanzania.
This is largely because most of that price that we typically pay for coffee goes to the companies that ship, roast, and retail the beans. Even when world coffee prices plummet and farmers can barely make a living, conventional coffee companies make tremendous profits. Middlemen, or "coyotes," also take a cut. In the end, very little of the money reaches the people who spend their lives growing and harvesting the beans for our cup of coffee.
Because coffee is so widely traded and consumed, it has an immense impact on the economic well-being of people in the Third World. For the same reason, it also offers one of the most promising avenues for bringing about positive change.
Equal Exchange fair trade criteria include: paying a fair price to the farmer; working with democratically-run cooperatives; buying directly from the farmer; providing advance credit to the farmer; encouraging ecologically sustainable farming practices; and developing long-term trade relations based on trust and respect.
Equal Exchange coffee is also featured in these Global Exchange gift baskets:
Peace Coffee is an alternative approach to coffee based on the belief that coffee should reward your taste buds while respecting coffee farmers and the environment. This coffee is 100% Fair Trade Certified, Organic Certified and Shade Grown. Peace Coffee considers their products to be "Farmer Friendly", and a step beyond Fair Trade Certification. Farmer Friendly means they know the people who produce their coffee and these friendships help shape our business.
Guatemala (direct from Manos Campesinas) -- The indigenous Mayan Mam farmers that grow this coffee are from Apecaformm, a member of the Manos Campesinas cooperative group. They are located in the moist, volcanic San Marcos region in the southwestern portion of the country. The farm families of this area are rebuilding their communities and local economies after the civil war that raged for decades. These farmers complement their subsistence agriculture with organic coffee production in the shadows of the impressive Volcan Tajamulco (the tallest point in Central America).
Mexico (direct from either Mut Vitz or UCIRI cooperatives) -- Mayan Tzotzil farmers of the Mut Vitz Co-op grow this coffee with pride. Mut Vitz translates to Bird Mountain - the most obvious geological feature in this part of the southern state Chiapas. Bird Mountain exemplifies the dedication of these farmers to protect their environment and provide habitat for birds within their shaded coffee fields. The farmers of Mut Vitz have struggled to gain economic autonomy and cultural recognition and we are proud to support these efforts.
UCIRI (the Union of Communities of the Isthmus Region) is an example of the long-term benefits Fair Trade has on communities of lesser-developed countries. Trading directly with companies in Europe and the US for almost 15 years has enabled the co-op to afford a health clinic, school and bus service for their members and the community. They are located in the Isthmus Region of Oaxaca.
Sumatra (direct from Gayo Mountain and YPSI farmer groups) -- Our Sumatran coffee is from the Gayo Mountain and YPSI farmer groups of Aceh, found in the north of this Indonesian island. The farmers that grow and collectively export this coffee are committed to improving their livelihoods through ecological preservation and sustainable agriculture. Although located in an area of incredible beauty the region is in political unrest. This group continues to prove that cooperation and economic stability are powerful tools for peace and justice.
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Thanksgiving Coffee Company is a Mendocino, CA-based leader in the gourmet coffee industry in terms of promoting environmentally sustainable and Fair Trade coffee. Their motto is, "Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup."
For Thanksgiving Coffee Company, a just cup is coffee that does right by its consumers, its growers, and the environment. By their definition, a truly sustainable product must:
- Satisfy the consumer,
- Maintain its growing environment,
- Support its producing communities.
To speak out against the U.S. embargo on Cuba, and its tragic effects on the Cuban people, they have created "End the Embargo Coffee." Their aim is to raise awareness about this unjust 38 year embargo by donating 15 cents per pound to Global Exchange. We hope that this will foster a new understanding between our two countries and help to combat the embargo. Our commitment to a just cup demands no less.
The United States' embargo on Cuban products prevents Thanksgiving Coffee Company from bringing you coffee actually grown in Cuba. Instead they have used beans grown by farmers in Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua. These coffee-producing countries have also felt the ravages of civil war, revolution, and economic embargoes, and have strong spiritual and cultural ties to Cuba. They believe that the Central American beans used in this coffee are a fitting emblem of international solidarity against the embargo. The coffees are organically grown in under natural rainforest canopy--practices which preserve rainforest habitat. They are also Fair Trade certified, insuring that the farmers make a living wage. Purchase of this coffee is not only a symbolic protest against an unjust embargo, but also a vote for sustainable and socially responsible agriculture everywhere.