Bags of coffee were thoughtfully placed in a basket on the floor in front of us, alternating between black and red labels.  The black ones were stamped with Just Coffee's logo and the red ones with Las Diosas logo.  The labels were different colors, read in different languages, but were filled with the same contents; organic coffee grown by women in northern Nicaragua.  Next to the coffee were candles and incense.  Nine of us women had come from near and far to attend this meeting, among them small scale coffee producers, directors of La FEM, and me consumer and representative of Just Coffee. Three of us were named Julia. I came armed with a long list of questions and them a world of answers, and from the beginning it was clear that this meeting was about much more than Just Coffee.
                 
We began the discussion about organic certification, about the high costs that producers must pay and how to work around that system.  Once they passed the test, after three years of transitioning from conventional to organic, the co op must pay $2000 a year for certification costs in order to market their product as organic. Just Coffee wondered if it was worth it to pay for that little green sticker, or if there were ways to continue with the same organic practices while avoiding the high costs of certification and thus using that money for other purposes.  After discussing different options, they came to the conclusion that although they agree with (and appreciate) JC’s desire to go one step further than organic and fair trade certifications, but don’t feel like they have enough experience in the fair trade system or political power to make that change right now, although they would like to.  The coop is too small to have this discussion, but maybe a few years down the road it will be possible. They noted that these are necessary structural and political changes that need to be made and until that happens they would have to think about long term effects of marketing their coffee without that organic stamp.  

It was obvious that within the country certification is quite important and helps a lot with local sales.  Although they are mostly foreigners that buy their coffee locally, people look for that certification and through that they are able to sell more coffee at a higher price.  Also, although they do not agree with the high prices that the certifiers are demanding or with the labels in general, the consensus seems to be that having that certification is quite important.  Many of the producers mentioned how hard they have worked and continue to work in order to get that certification and were apprehensive about getting rid of it.  They also said that working towards this certification has helped them organize themselves and to move ahead.

 The next topic we discussed was a fair price for 2010.  When I asked the question, the room was silent for a good couple of minutes.  While I waited, curious to hear their response, Jitzy’s mother Rosita finally broke the silence.  “To be honest,” she said, “we would be happy with anything you want to offer, but to us what greater price could you offer us than recognizing us as producers and as people.  This relationship really is invaluable to us, not only for the higher price you offer, but also for all the other work you do in putting our faces on the labels, for bringing delegations down, and for truly working towards a just system.  It is difficult for us to ask for more from you.” Sigh. We all stopped to let that absorb before Diana chimed in.

 “Just Coffee is the best thing that could have happened to us,” they tell me, “It’s like a gift from the goddesses.  Coffee has been a product with a long history of inequality and to have found people from the north that care enough about people from the south and to bridge the gap is what makes us feel hopeful that the World can change.  We have not simply found a client, they say, but rather a personal relationship that you don't find every day.” Before I left Madison to come down here, Mike Miller of JC said, It’s not really coffee that we care about, but rather it is a means for social change. When I shared that with the women, they all nodded their heads and stopped to write that down.

They shared with me their ability to do things like  pay their workers a higher wage, to educate their children, to reinvest money into their communities, to go to the dentist, to buy their own clothes, and most importantly to rely on no one other than themselves to get by.  These are mostly women who have been left by their husbands in a world of machismo. “We never used to have money for ourselves.  We always had to ask the men whenever we needed anything, but now we can do things on our own.  We can educate ourselves too.  I used to be illiterate, but now I’m in my third year of studying,” says Julia, proudly. “We are different women because of our involvement with La FEM and Just Coffee and others see our progress and want to be part of it. Oh, how many would other women would love to have this opportunity!”

When I asked them what they would like their consumers to know about them, they were eager to share.  “Tell them that when they drink our coffee, that it has a different value than any others.  It is made by educated women that have escaped violence and are now working together every step of the way.  Through this coffee, alternative social relationships are created that are no loner base d on exploitation, but rather equal relationships among men and women.   “From the seedlings to your cup, know that it is the product of women,” they say with a confident smile.     

To these women this fight is about much more than Just Coffee.  It is about being organized, educated, and independent.  It is about finding a common ground between north and south, between the haves and the have-nots, about being conscious about how what we do affects others and reversing a system that has been based on inequality, exploitation, and marginalization. 

This conversation was truly inspiring and confirmed  my beliefs in the work Just Coffee does for small scale farmers, and especially with these women.  So, check out JC’s supply of La FEM’s coffee and know that these women are working hard not only to harvest quality coffee beans, but also to stand up for themselves, luchando por la igualdad, and that they are truly appreciative of their relationship with Just Coffee.