Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Win Your Own Table Top Roaster!

Have you ever wanted to start a small roasting operation at your cafe?

Coffee Kids recently had a Sonofresco Table Top Roaster donated by Elan Organic Coffee for a drawing/fundraiser at the SCAA Expo. The roaster, valued at $3,500, is easy-to-use and appropriate for small cafes. The roaster has a two-pound roasting capacity.

The drawing will be held on Sunday, April 19 at 1 pm at the Coffee Kids’ booth (#1334) at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Expo in Atlanta, Ga. Tickets for the drawing are available for a suggested donation of $25 (five entries for a donation of $100) and participants need not be present to win. Please visit Coffee Kids Donate page and enter SCAA in the ‘memorial/gift’ field.

All proceeds from the drawing will benefit Coffee Kids’ efforts to help coffee-farming families improve their quality of life. Winner pays shipping on the roaster.

You can also donate over the phone by calling 505-820-1443.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

NAFTA ‘s Promise or Lack Thereof

The New York Times ran an article, “Nafta’s Promise, Unfulfilled,” looking at the effects of NAFTA. I tend to think the view is dramatically affected by the fact that the world is currently in conniptions with the economic crisis, but its effect on small farmers cannot be exaggerated. Coffee Kids witnessed the effects of NAFTA on many of the small farmers we work with. Subsidized corn flooding the market in Mexico drove prices down to a point where it made no sense for local production. Many are now dependent on imported food. The dearth of jobs leads to migration just to survive.

Though international trade is important, it often benefits developed economies moreso than the developing world. In these parts of the world, a developed local economy can truly increase the independence of families. Coffee Kids partners in Mexico are working to stimulate local economies. Groups like Self-Managed Development (AUGE) and their microcredit program are fomenting small business investment throughout coffee communities in Veracruz; our partner FomCafé is promoting organic gardening as a healthy substitute to imported foods and a source of supplemental income; the Association for Research and Training of Southeastern Mexico (ICSUR) is working with families to raise edible mushrooms and flocks of chickens that add healthy foodstuffs to the local economy.

According to the article, there appear to be big changes on the horizon for NAFTA, but diversifying local economies is one way to reach the areas that don’t benefit from global trade agreements.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sharing Knowledge: Partners Meet on Microcredit

By José Carlos León Vargas, International Program Coordinator

See more images from the visit at our Flickr page.

On February 25, I traveled with Norma Alcántara and Dina Córdoba of Coffee Kids’ partner, Self-Managed Development (AUGE), to visit the Chajulense Association of Women United for Life (ACMUV), our partner in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala.

AUGE has extensive experience in microlending and savings programs and Coffee Kids coordinated a meeting between the groups so they could learn and share information. After a six-hour ride from Antigua, we reached the beautiful hills of Chajul.

ACMUV’s representative Juana Hu Mateo and the women of the board gave us a warm welcome. For three days, women from both organizations shared their achievements, needs, hopes and ideas in the field of microcredit. During the sessions, members of ACMUV were curious about the role of savings, which is a pillar of AUGE’s microcredit program used by more than 3,000 women in Veracruz, Mexico.

The discipline, dreams and strength of the women in Chajul were inspiring to Norma and Dina.

“We had worked with many women in Mexico, but the courage and determination of the indigenous women of Chajul is a real motivator for us,” Norma Alcántara said.

Personally, I was impressed by how the board of ACMUV had been able to organize the meeting and necessary materials with very limited resources. During my previous visit to Chajul in August 2008, ACMUV board members had limited experience with computers and the internet, but through organizing this event, they learned quickly and were able to use the technology on a regular basis, improving their management skills and self-confidence.

In a region that just a few years ago suffered under the scourge of civil war, and now struggles with high illiteracy and mortality rates, ACMUV is helping women and their families overcome poverty. Today, ACMUV provides 85 women with access to credit in order to start their own small business and generate income for their families. The visit from Norma and Dina helped the women of ACMUV focus their efforts.

At the final session, ACMUV member Marta Margarita Velasco Chel expressed in the local Ixil dialect, “I think womens’ groups that focus on saving and solidarity, like the ones explained by AUGE, can be very good for us. With the solidarity groups we explain what we are going to do with the funds, but we can be confident the group will help us.”

Our visit ended with an activity where each woman had a balloon representing her dreams. Like a balloon, our hopes and dreams fly, but occasionally they fall. The important thing is to help each other up so that our dreams can fly again.

See more images from the visit at our Flickr page.