Angelina Jolie, Colin Firth, Bono and Elton John. They’re just some of the celebrities raving over Organic Fairtrade Coffee. Nobody in the Fairtrade industry is willing to disclose how much extra they charge for their branded coffee, how much of this extra charge reaches the third world, how much reaches the farmers or whether the farmers make a profit from Fairtrade... So why are the world’s coffee-lovers going gaga over organic Fairtrade coffee?
Well, coffee farmers will tell you, you can’t beat traditional, natural farming methods when it comes to growing superb organic coffee beans. Imagine for a moment, if you will…
…Coffee plants growing in their own sweet time, drawing on nutrient-rich soil under the protection of the forest’s shady canopy. Song birds warbling cheerily as they perch in the trees, only too eager to keep insects at bay. The leaves rustle- perhaps a howler monkey is scampering about. It’s a perfectly balanced and sustained eco-system. Plants and animals are thriving. The red buds of the coffee cherries are hand-picked and the beans removed and dried in the sunshine under the watchful care of the farmers, just as they have been for hundreds of years. Ahhh… it’s coffee as it should be… no wonder Angelina is a fan.
Contrast this to non-organic production… an entire forest cut down to create more room for plantations, leaving wildlife homeless and eco-systems shattered. Coffee plants, not partial to the sun, are engineered to tolerate the heat. Pesticides are used to control insects and chemical fertilisers are sprayed onto the ground- and surrounding water supplies- to make up for the ever-diminishing soil quality. The result is an inferior coffee bean, a destroyed habitat and the pollution of waterways that threaten both farming communities and the environment. It’s enough to make you want to spit your coffee across the room.
| Fairtrade coffee: It is still divided between coffee enthusiast |
So it’s easy to see why organic coffee has become the darling of the coffee-drinkers’ world. But what’s all this about Fairtrade? OK, so now you know why Fairtrade organic coffee has coffee drinkers queueing up for more - the natural process for growing and harvesting the beans makes it taste so much better. But there’s more to it than that. This is the really exciting part- Fairtrade.
The Fairtrade label is your guarantee that the farmers who grew the coffee received a fair wage for their product. When you’re paying RM 9 or RM 15 for a coffee at your local cafe, you might think that the farmers who supplied the beans are doing quite nicely but, in reality, they were most likely paid a pittance- if it wasn’t a fairtrade brand. At best, they might have broken even. Bear in mind that this is their only source of income.
However, under the Fairtrade scheme, farmers are paid a fair price that covers the cost of sustainable production. Farmers can then afford to invest in their farms, build better houses and send their children to school, which breaks the poverty cycle and leads to a better, brighter future. On top of that, they receive an additional payment, called a ‘premium’ that is used for community development projects. And this is where is gets really exciting- entire communities being transformed! Think of that as you’re having your early morning kick-start of caffeine.
Growers of Gumutindo Fairtrade organic coffee in Uganda have used their premium to build a warehouse for storing their produce. They have also built a medical clinic and a secondary school.
Okapa farmers in Papua New Guinea used their premium to construct a dirt road so that they no longer had to walk 15km to the nearest bus-stop while carrying heavy sacks on their backs. The new road means better access to health and education facilities in town.
The women’s cooperative of farmers in Peru, known as Cafe Femenino, decided to build raised indoor kitchens in their homes so that they will no longer suffer chronic back pain from cooking over an open fire outdoors. They also now have medical posts in each village with a fully-equipped first aid kit and the construction of roads to connect villages has begun. And its not just outward change that comes from the opportunities that Fairtrade gives to farmers.
For the women of Cafe Femenino, the biggest transformation has been in the way they see themselves. No longer do they hang their heads, too ‘worthless’ to have a voice. Now they have self-esteem that gives them the confidence to speak up and take on positions of responsibility in the community. They have realised how valuable and significant they really are- and their community is changing for the better because of it.
So go on… get hold of some organic Fairtrade coffee, put the kettle on, and relax. Make your world- and the world around you- a better place.
No comments:
Post a Comment