Sunday morning coffee hour can aid small farmers in poor countries

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 10 June 2000

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., - Vietnamese Mennonite Fellowship, Upper Darby, Pa., is the first congregation participating in a new fairly-traded coffee program offered by Ten Thousand Villages, a program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

Since 1995 Ten Thousand Villages has marketed fairly traded coffee, giving North American shoppers a chance to help small coffee farmers compete in an industry dominated by huge companies. Now Ten Thousand Villages offers churches in the United States the opportunity to buy fairly traded coffee for use during Sunday fellowship time, special events or as a fund-raising project.

Quang Tran, pastor of Vietnamese Mennonite Fellowship, is excited about finding a way to help small farmers through this program. He says, "We want to help people. We were refugees and we think this is a way we can give thanks for the way people helped us. We want to help small countries and small farmers. Besides, the coffee is good. It reminds us of the very good coffee we enjoyed when we lived in Vietnam."

Ten Thousand Villages provides the coffee through two fair trade organizations, Level Ground Trading and Equal Exchange. Both guarantee a fair price per pound to farmers, including a guaranteed minimum when market prices are low. This gives farmers more control of the trade process and profits from the sale of their crops. The two organizations also provide access to credit and provide continuity of purchases - key fair trade principles - which also allow farmers to dream and plan a better future. Staff at Equal Exchange and Level Ground Trading are coffee experts, choosing the best Arabica beans, roasting methods and packaging to ensure great-tasting, fresh coffee.

These coffee varieties are shade grown, an important component in coffee production. Coffee was traditionally grown on small farms under a protective canopy of taller trees such as banana, plantain or citrus. This shade canopy protects the coffee plants from the sun, makes the soil more fertile, prevents erosion and hosts billions of migratory and native birds. The birds greatly aid in pest control, reducing the need for pesticides.

Due to the low prices paid by the conventional coffee market, many farmers clear-cut their land hoping to grow more coffee. But without the protective trees, more fertilizer and pesticides are needed and the soil erodes. Another unfortunate outcome of this farming method is that migratory songbirds North Americans enjoy are now threatened without their canopy of trees.

Churches that want to participate in "Share a cup, Share a cause" can phone (717) 859-8180 or email . Individuals interested in fair trade coffee should contact their nearest Ten Thousand Villages store. A complete store listing can be found on the Web.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org