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"