Just Coffee Cooperative

From the uprisings that were felt throughout the world, to our own backyard here in Madison, its fair to say that 2011 was a year of movement. The earth started shakin’, people got organized, and exercised compassion over complacence. A revolutionary sentiment filled the air as people responded to these troubled times with a desire for a different world, where relationships and people, rather than greed and power matter. Just when I started to think the world had lost its track, and wondered how much worse things can get, I found myself in this interconnected network of inspiring, active individuals and ideas (both in Madison and abroad), working tirelessly to combat a system bound to fail. As we move into 2012, I’m grateful for those beans that help us to connect, reflect, and progress.

In the world of fair trade coffee, 2011 was a year filled with much excitement matched with many twists, turns, and roadblocks. High prices and rifts in the fair trade movement ruffled up many different aspects of this complicated chain of buying and selling of coffee beans. Throughout the year, green bean prices hit record highs, forcing producers, importers, and roasters alike to be creative in their efforts to secure coffee and invest more time and energy into maintaining long-term partnerships. Together with our chain of cooperatives, we managed to find ways to deal with high prices, relying on the importance of communication, flexibility, and long term relationships to overcome whatever barriers we were met with.

In northern Nicaragua, as in many other parts of the world, coffee farmers are getting to know climate change a little too well. Last year, we wrote about the effects of Hurricane Matthew on many of the communities organized under La FEM. The community of El Colorado, home of Paz y Amor entre Mujeres was the hardest hit. Forty two families were evacuated and all of them lost their homes, animals, and food for the year. The land was devastated and after an official review by the local government, it was decided that it was unsafe to continue living on that mountain. The land was literally sinking and landslides were inevitable. A new piece of land was to be found and the entire community would be forced to start over. At least that was the plan...

So, the women leaders from the community waited and waited in their make shift shacks and tents for the mayor of the nearby town to find and purchase a piece of land, move the community, install water and electricity, and build 42 new homes. You can imagine how unsettling it must feel when you can’t be sure that the ground you’re standing on is secure. The mayor had agreed to move the community before the rainy season arrived after families had stressed the importance of needing to get to a secure place before the rains fell. Well, the rainy season came and went, but not without leaving behind another horrific storm. The community was once again evacuated in October and was forced to seek shelter in one of La FEM’s community centers and the local school. Roads were washed out, animals died, and farmlands were damaged once again. It was estimated that 16 of the 17 communities that FEM works with were affected and about 90% of this years crops (not including coffee) were lost. Luckily, that was the only damage.

Meanwhile, many of you helped us raise money through individual donations and through sales from our Solidarity Blend, raising nearly $5000 to put towards relief efforts and the purchase of a new piece of land. A portion of that money was put towards buying basic supplies needed to assist families during the crisis.  And we are finally happy to report that (now that the elections are over...) the mayor has begun the initial processes to move this community to a more secure spot, close enough to their farms, but far enough away that they wont be threatened by future landslides. Thank you to those that contributed to the Solidarity fund and who continue to act in solidarity with the farmers that grow your coffee.

One principle of fair trade is encouraging environmental stewardship in every step of the coffee chain. Not only does Just Coffee work with certified organic farmers, but we also work to encourage farmers to overcome the barriers to organic certifications and/or farming using sustainable practices. Once farmers stop using chemicals on their trees, they must wait three long years before they are able to acquire an organic certification-- even if they are following organic practices during that time. This deters many farmers from making the sacrifice to improve the health of their farms, communities, and the planet. Because of an initial drop in production yields, more labor-intensive techniques associated with organics, and high certification costs, making the commitment to switch from conventional production is not always an easy decision. This is in part because during those three transition years, they do not benefit from higher yields nor the higher prices that can be obtained with an organic certification. Currently the USDA will not even allow "transitional organic" on labels to let consumers know that they are buying a coffee from a farmer attempting to make the change and following good practices. So, there is almost no market for these in-between beans.

If you know Just Coffee, you know that to us, it’s about much more than just a label. Close relationships with producer cooperatives allow for open discussion, a space for mutual understanding, and make alternative agreements possible. This year, we’re happy to announce that we are supporting farmers from the Yachil Zapatista Cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico in their transition to sustainable practices by providing not only a market, but also an increased price. You can find this phenomenal coffee in our Peace on Earth Holiday Blend, and soon to be included in Solidarity Blend.