Hello, Philip Arca from TransFair USA on this end.

This post is a belated follow-up to my query of interest in a fair trade
coffee promotion.  Most of the comments expressed interest -- provided that
shade grown coffee be part of the effort.  My response to such a
perspective is below.

As an aside, one person noted that this list was not a place to do
business.  To that person and to anyone else that misunderstood our
organizational/programmatic goals, I would hope that this list is a place
to exchange ideas and strategies to make a difference in communities
through the use of the power and prestige of cultural institutions.  The
1992 American Association of Museums report, Excellence and Equity:
Education and the Public Dimension of Museums, I believe, says it well.

TransFair USA is a 501c3 with a Ford Foundation grant promoting fair trade
products and its philosophical underpinnings in order to support small
farmers -- the best custodian of local natural resources.  I would hope
that the museum and zoo community is open to at least discussing such an
issue.  Environmental degradation does not happen in a vacuum.  Addressing
real human needs is a fundamental part of the solution.  Fair trade starts
from that viewpoint.

So, with respect to the shade grown coffee interest, my thoughts are as
follows:

Shade grown coffee is good for birds and biodiversity.  We support it.
Organic coffee is good for the habitat and the consumer.  We support it.
And Fair Trade Cofffee complements the shade and organic effort by
supporting the small farmers, the cooperative movement and conscientious
consumerism. By supporting small farmers and their efforts to organize and
manage cooperatives, we are supporting the best stewards of local natural
resources -- families that care about their land and the sustainability of
their community for generations to come.

No, we cannot say that each and every farmer on the Fair Trade Register is
certified shade grown and organic.  Many are certified, but the harsh
reaility is that many others just can't afford certification fees.  The
positive and encouraging reality is, however, that small farmers are
committed to traditional farming methods, cannot afford and do not like
using chemicals, and grow coffee on small hillside, shaded fincas, not
large estates focused on planting sun coffee.  These small farmers, with
the added income of the Fair Trade incentive, will most certainly pursue
multiple certifications.  We welcome the day.

So, until such time that we can get all of our Fair Trade Producers
certified shade and organic, for any collaborative promotional effort that
we may pursue we can and will identify the select group of Producers that
already meet all three criteria.

It should be noted that there is some discussion around a superseal that
pursues this laudable goal of addressing consumer organic interests,
environmental bioddiversity issues and our fair trade concern of supporting
the small farmer.  In fact, our Executive Director, Paul Rice, is involved
in exploring that issue.  He has lived and worked in Central America for
more than 15 years.  He has consulted for an array of clients, from major
foundations to international economic development organizations to coffee
exporters.  He has founded several organizations, including a fair trade
coffee export cooperative in Nicaragua.  We will keep you apprised of his
progress in that area.

Paul and I just returned from Nicaragua where we were filming a video on
the life of a farmer and the benefits of fair trade.  It is clear to me as
a frequent traveller to Central America but a newcomer to a coffee farm
visit, that a small farmer in Latin America faces formidable odds.
Producers on our Fair Trade register are smallcroppers and farm in
traditional ways.   Annual income is $800.   They live in adobe block homes
with dirt floors.  Kids miss opportunities for education because they
cannot afford the $200 annual costs of pursuing an education beyond 6th
grade.

Any in-situ conservation effort must include the people living in these
wonderful natural resources and subsequently, must include economic
incentive.  Otherwise we run the risk of the conglomeration of small,
family-run farms into large sun coffee estates with an emphasis on
clearcutting, chemicals and coffee volume -- not quality coffee.  Small
farmers are typically excluded from agricultural lending portfolios, so
there is no bank money for them to transition to sun coffee, even if they
wanted to. Pushed by chemical companies, sun coffee is almost exclusively
grown on large coffee estates.

In closing, at TransFair USA, we believe that the US consumer market must
provide incentives to small farmers to stay on their land and reward them
for producing the best speciality coffee around.  Fair trade helps small
farmers to cut out the middlemen and develop direct trade relations with
gourmet coffee importers in the US.  This allows farmers to capture
significant price premiums, live a better life and
engage in sustainable farming practices.

We've begun meeting with institutions interested in this effort.  I offer
again to others on the listserve throughout the US, please send any and all
interest inquiries to me at the address below.  Help support the growing
Fair Trade movement in the US.

I appreciate the opportunity to dialogue on this list and apologize for
length/cross-postings.

Philip Arca
TransFair USA
52 Ninth Street
Oakland, CA 94607
510 663 5262
Fax 510 663 5264
[log in to unmask]
http://www.transfairusa.org
Trade is neither inherently bad nor good.  But how it is conducted is a
matter of great concern -- and an unprecedented opportunity.
-- Hilary French, "Costly Tradeoffs: Reconciling Trade and the Environment"