I don’t know about you, but I cannot start my day without my cup of coffee. According to the makers of Black Gold retail sales of coffee are 80 billion dollars per year, so I know I am not the only one with this morning addiction. (A short excerpt, 8:15 minutes, of the documentary is included below.)
Some key facts from the video clip, just in case you don’t have time to watch. Most of the farmers are paid around $.506 per pound and sometimes as low as $.176 per pound. One farmer reports their lives would change beyond recognition if they could get just $1.254 per pound. Considering that coffee is 67% of Ethiopia’s export revenue and 15 million Ethiopians depend on coffee for their survival, I think it is very important to know where your coffee comes from and if a fair price is paid for that coffee. (Just a note they use kilos in the film and I used the conversion that 1 pound = .45359237 kilos in my calculations, thanks google.)
Sad isn’t it, those farmers deserve to be paid a fair price for their product.
What can you do?
Check out this site for fair trade, organically and shade grown, Ethiopian coffee: Dean’s Beans Coffee: Oromia Blend 5 pounds Dean’s Beans states on their website that they will not pay less than $1.41 per pound, which according to the farmer in the film that is more than enough to change his life beyond recognition. I have not yet had the chance to try this coffee, I have ordered it and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I usually order Equal Exchange Coffee: French Roast 5 pounds, I went to Equal Exchange’s website and they do not state how much they pay per pound, but they are fair trade certified. I have also tried Equal Exchange Hot Cocoa 6-Pak and it is very good, Matt still prefers Swiss Miss, but I prefer Equal Exchange.
Global Exchange has lots of fair trade products and gifts to choose from, so check them out. Also, if you purchase from Global Exchange from any links on this blog you will also be helping to bring Tom and Jerry home.
If you want to learn more about fair trade check out fairtrade.net.
Do you know where your coffee comes from and if a fair price was paid?