Coffee is Not Enough
A recent article in Time Magazine looked at Fair Trade and some of the problems coffee farmers are experiencing (Fair Trade: What Price for Good Coffee?). Rick Peyser of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, who serves on our board, is interviewed in the piece.
It all seems to come back to, ‘coffee is not enough.’ In many of these communities, there is such a heavy dependence on the crop that families can never afford to get ahead.
Fair trade is great tool to build consumer awareness of the problems farmers face and provide a more just price, but in order for the farmers and their families to improve their quality of life they need alternatives to coffee.
More than anything, coffee-farming families need help diversifying local economies, and expanding educational opportunities and access to health care.
The article perfectly illustrates the importance of Coffee Kids’ efforts. We help coffee-farming families create programs in health awareness, education and training, microcredit and economic diversification, and food security. Each of the 25 projects our partners are managing this year (see a rundown here) meet a specific community need identified by people there.
Update: Coffee Kids Board Member Mona Blaber sent a letter to the editor. If you’re interested, be sure you send one as well and let them know that Coffee Kids is working to confront the problem.