Fair Trade Farmers Share Their Stories | Fair Trade USA

Fair Trade Farmers Share Their Stories | Fair Trade USA

04/26/2011 - 4:03 PM

On Friday, April 29, at 9am PT/12pm ET, you’re invited to tune in to our live USTREAM broadcast on the Fair Trade Certified Facebook page to hear from four international coffee and cocoa farmers about how Fair Trade has impacted their lives and their communities. Viewers will also be able to join the conversation by submitting questions for the panelists to answer during the broadcast.

In preparation for World Fair Trade Day, Saturday May 14, Fair Trade USA is working hard to Wake Up the World to the benefits of Fair Trade. Through the Fair Trade model over 1.2 million farmers have been able to forge better business opportunities and cut out intermediaries, resulting in tremendous impact for these workers and thier families. Fair Trade premiums that provide community development funds help enable cooperatives and associations to invest in their communities when they lack economic opportunities. This Friday, you’ll have the opportunity to meet a few of these amazing people from the comfort of your own home, school or office.

We welcome you to tune in to our live broadcast and online discussion to hear how Fair Trade works on the ground, and about the power of the consumer to create global change through a daily cup of coffee, chocolate bar or banana. Fair Trade USA President & CEO Paul Rice will engage in a lively discussion with farmers from Costa Rica, Indonesia, Kenya and Peru about how Fair Trade has benefited their families, their communities and the environment. This is a rare opportunity for the farmers to communicate directly with the American consumers who buy their products, finally bringing the supply chain full circle.

The Line-Up

Paul Rice, President & CEO, Fair Trade USA

Wendy Campos Barboza, CoopeTarrazú, Costa Rica

Armia Shikin Mandago, Permata Gayo Cooperative, Indonesia

Raymond Gitau Wanyugi, Ndumberi Coffee Growers Society, Kenya

Isaac Zúñiga Aguilar, Cooperativa Agraria Industrial Naranjillo, Peru

Get Involved

Viewers are encouraged to ask questions during the broadcast by posting them on the Fair Trade Certified Facebook page or using #FairTradeDay on Twitter.

The Perfect Gift

Article by: Lindsay Olson

As the holidays draw near, we know you might be a bit stressed about your shopping list. Well, the BuyWell team is here for you this holiday season! We’ve decided to relieve some of your stress by tackling that holiday shopping list of yours and providing you with a few fabulous gift ideas for that “hard to buy for” crowd.

The Guy Who Has Everything
You know the type: his garage is packed with every tool, car and shiny man-toy imaginable. He’s got every gadget and gizmo a-plenty, and he’s read every book ever written. What on earth do you get this guy?

How about coffee? For the guy who has everything, BuyWell’s Screaming Monkey blend is perfect! Why? Well, does he have a screaming monkey? We didn’t think so. Plus, its wild, fruity flavor will give him just the kick he needs to start his day. How else will he find the energy to play with all of his toys?

The HumanitarianShe’s compassionate, energetic, cares about every person on the planet, and is the mother of twenty-seven. While she’s well traveled, highly educated and deeply concerned about the issues facing the world today, she is also incredibly hard to shop for this time of year.

The answer: Café Hope, BuyWell’s fair-trade single origin straight from the female farmers of Peru. This dark roast is the perfect blend of flavor and hope, as proceeds from each bag go directly to the women who farm these fabulously golden beans. Café Hope is not only a delicious treat for your loved one; it’s a gift that helps make the world a better place. What more could you ask for?

The “Returner”Last year, you got her a pair of mittens…which she exchanged for a new purse. The year before, you gave a gorgeous cashmere sweater…which she returned for credit toward Jimmy Choos. You can’t win with this one. Every year, she returns your gift for something “better.”

But what could possibly be better than a fragrant bag of BuyWell’s Luna Perfetta? This rich, full-bodied Italian roast is as sumptuous as it is uncomplicated (unlike, perhaps, the recipient). A cup of Luna Perfetta goes perfectly with gorgeous eyes and great conversation underneath a perfect moon. Trust us; it doesn’t get better than that.

The Workaholic (aka The Over-Achiever)Let’s be honest: you’ll be lucky if this guy even shows up for the celebrations this year. He is the successful and driven member of the family—which is code for “always at the office.” But you love him anyway, and want to see him succeed.

Which is why a gift basket with fair-trade products, including BuyWell’s Blackbird Espresso, is the perfect way to help him achieve his goals this holiday season. Blackbird Espresso is not only great coffee, it’s also excellent business! Since all of BuyWell’s products are fair-trade, each purchase promotes good business practices world-wide. That driven overachiever of yours will not only appreciate the delicious flavor of Blackbird Espresso, he’ll also recognize your business-savvy. (Careful, though…he may start inviting you to board meetings.)

So…get the idea? It’s a simple fact: BuyWell coffees are the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for folks, as well as the rest of them! And while you’re at it, get yourself a treat, too. After all, you’ve earned it! Check out BuyWell on Amazon for great deals on 3 packs!

Want some more ideas for fair-trade gifts? Check out our list of vendors here.

http://www.yobelmarket.com/

http://www.altereco-usa.com/main.php

http://www.divinechocolate.com/

http://www.ourmomentum.com/

Introducing Café Hope an all womens coffee from Peru

Colorado Springs, Colo. ‐‐ BuyWell Fair Trade Coffee introduced a new product to its line of extraordinary coffees: Café Hope, a dark roast single origin coffee, grown on all‐women farms in Peru.

This Fair Trade Certified© organic coffee, to be added to BuyWell’s main offerings, will give a larger proportion of sales to be paid directly back to the women farmers.
“It’s important we know our famers and how they live, it reminds us why buying Fair Trade Certified© coffee and other fair trade products is so important,” said Bob Perrine, CEO of BuyWell International.

In July 2010, two BuyWell employees traveled to Peru to meet with the farmers who will be providing the coffee for Café Hope. Located hundreds of miles northwest of Peru’s capital Lima, the co‐op Naranjillo is nestled in the small town of Tingo Maria. The cooperative, founded in 1966 with just 32 members, has grown today to over 5,000 members now located in four regions of Peru.

Speaking with BuyWell employees, four farmers told their personal struggles in life and the struggle to run their farms. When asked if it gives them hope knowing people in the United States are actively seeking their coffee, they said they are proud of their product and it gives them hope they will be able to expand their production thus growing their income and sustaining their farms for their future and children’s futures.

“Meeting the women face to face, gave so much more meaning to the coffee, this is really all they have and they put everything into farming the best quality coffee they can,” said Christopher Aaby, sales and marketing manager of BuyWell International.

BuyWell Coffee will pay a premium of at least $0.10 more per pound to go directly back to the women farmers. The goal being with this extra income is to allow the farmers to improve their farms and production by purchasing more land, plant more coffee trees, hire the labor during harvest to hand pick the coffee and pay bills that have long been piling up. Buy purchasing this coffee, consumers are directly supporting this cooperative while also receiving a high‐quality coffee grown with great care and love.

This is the first time Naranjillo has sold an all‐women grown coffee. Naranjillo wants to increase the amount of women who contribute their crops and also encourage the women to take free courses at the co‐op main offices in leadership in hopes one day more women will be in leadership roles within the co‐op. Naranjillo believes in the quality of their products and the lives of their farmers and BuyWell is honored to have this new partnership and look forward to great things in the future.

To purchase Café Hope whole bean or ground Click Here.

Add a Coffee Twist to Thanksgiving.

Adding a coffee twist to thanksgiving isn't just about pumpkin spice lattes, here are a couple other ideas to add a coffee twist to your turkey day festivities.

Roast Turkey with Coffee Rub

Ingredients:

• 12-lb turkey, giblets removed, rinsed well (inside and out) and patted dry with paper towels
• 2-oz Homemade coffee rub*
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil

* 2 tbsp ground fair trade coffee, 2 tbsp ground white pepper, 1 tbsp ground Tellicherry black pepper, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tbsp sea salt or kosher. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix coffee rub with garlic and oil and coat entire turkey. Truss bird and place it breast side up in a shallow roasting pan with a snug fit. Place turkey in oven. Rotate pan twice (every 60 minutes) to ensure even browning. During the second rotation, tip turkey forward to release cooking juices, then baste frequently, about every 10 minutes. Begin checking after 2 1/2 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees. Transfer to carving board and cover loosely with foil. Don't carve until ready to serve. (Turkey will stay warm for at least an hour.) Reserve pan drippings for gravy. Serves 8


Coffee Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unseasoned canned pumpkin, drained well
• 1/3 cup BuyWell Fair Trade Coffee, brewed strong
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH: salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup BuyWell Fair Trade Coffee, brewed strong , chilled
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 9-inch ready-made baked pie crust or graham cracker style

Directions:
Brew 4 cups of coffee; chill 1/4 cup, reserve 1/3 cup and keep room temperature, drink the rest while you make the pie! Heat water in the bottom of a double boiler to hot, not boiling; simmer until ready to use.

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg yolks then add 1/3 cup of the sugar plus the pumpkin, and the 1/3 cup of brewed coffee. Add the salt and all the spices, stir, and then transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler. Stir it constantly, until the pie filling is hot.

In a small bowl, pour in the 1/4 cup chilled coffee and sprinkle in the gelatin. Mix until dissolved then add to the hot pumpkin mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour it all out into a large bowl, cover, and chill for about 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. When the pumpkin mixture is thickened, remove from the refrigerator and begin the rest of the steps.

In a very clean, very dry medium bowl (glass or copper works best) beat the egg whites until stiff then add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, all the while beating to keep the whites stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture.

Beat the cream until peaks form then gently fold them in until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into a ready-made pie crust, smooth over evenly, then cover and chill for two hours.

To serve, brew up some more BuyWell Fair Trade Coffee, whip the remaining 1/2 cup of the cream, and garnish the pie with it.

YIELD: 8 generous servings

We hope this inspires you to try something new with coffee. Its not just for drinking and can add a kick to a traditional dish that might become a new family favorite!

Coffee art

We came accross this clip on YouTube. Some artisits at the The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia produced a masterpeice using only cups of coffee and milk as their medium.



This inspires us to do more then just drink our coffee, what ideas do you have for other ways to use coffee as art?

Shower with your coffee?

Coffee is well known to give the body antioxidants when you drink it, but here is another great way to utilize the antioxidents in coffee, take a bath with coffee! Coffee Mint Body Wash by Wash With Joe is a invigorating body wash where the #1 ingredient is Coffee!

We just thought this was too cool and had to share!

From the Wash with Joe Site:

PROVEN SKIN CARE TECHNOLOGY TO THE BATH & SHOWER

DID YOU KNOW THAT COFFEE IS AN AMAZING HEALTH & BEAUTY AID?
IN FACT, IT MAY DO MORE FOR YOUR OUTSIDES THAN IT DOES FOR YOUR INSIDES!

GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN
Coffee with caffeine has both anti-inflammatory and tightening and firming qualities. For years, caffeine has been used in to reduce cellulite because it dehydrates fat cells; skin on buttocks and thighs become smoother.

GOOD FOR YOU – THE NEXT BIG ANTIOXIDANT
Coffee with caffeine is starting to get lots of attention for its antioxidant properties when used topically. In fact, research suggests that topical caffeine may offer powerful anti-carcinogenic benefits and repair UV damage - it may be a stronger antioxidant than green tea.

BALANCING
WASH WITH JOE™ gives you an invigorating jumpstart to your day. The uplifting blend of pure coffee and triple distilled peppermint essential oil helps revitalize body and mind. A richly foaming body wash, this re-charging formulation leaves you superbly refreshed and clean. Coffee is a natural deodorizer that absorbs odors, which makes this an effective body wash for people with active lifestyles.

UNISEX
WASH WITH JOE™ is unisex, perfectly suited for both men and women

INGREDIENTS
Coffea Arabica (Coffee),Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Calcium d-Pantothenate (Pro-Vitamin B5), Limnanthes alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, triple Distilled Peppermint Essential Oil

WASH WITH JOE™ is Paraben Free, Certified Vegan and never tested on animals

MADE IN USA"

What do you do with your old coffee grounds?

Here are just a few ideas we liked, they are a great way to use coffee grounds so they don't end up in a landfill somewhere.


10. Deodorizer. Dry them out on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer, or rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.

9. Plant food. Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Also, grounds can add nutrients to your compost bin.

8. Insect repellant. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. The little buggers will move on or stay away. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.

7. Dye. By steeping grounds in hot water, you can make brown dye for fabric, paper and even Easter eggs.

6. Furniture scratch cover-up. Steep grounds and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture scratches with a Q-tip.

5. Cleaning product. As they’re slightly abrasive, grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects.

4. Kitty repellent. To keep kitty from using the garden as her personal powder room, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.

3. Flea dip. Follow up Fido’s shampoo with a coffee ground rub down, working them down to his skin. Not only are the fleas suppose to vamoose, but puppy’s hair will feel soft too.

2. Dust inhibitor. Before you clean out the fireplace, toss wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep the ash dust under control.

And, finally, the #1 use for used coffee grounds....drum roll here....

Cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. While standing over an old towel or newspaper, apply the mixture to your "problem areas". Next, wrap the areas with shrink wrap and leave on for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and then shower with warm water. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice a week. A little weird to be sure, but as high priced cellulite creams have coffee in them, it just might work.