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July-August 2011
A Cooperative Coffees e-Newsletter for and about Fair Trade
July-August 2011
In this issue...
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Elias Chocanapi, commercialization director at FECAFEB |
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Reach out!Outreach and Communications Roaster News Producer News Travel: Where in the World is Coop Coffees? The Latest in the Fair Trade movement |
Reach out!
Its summer.... and from the reports back it seems to be a hot one on all fronts! Iced coffees and pool days are our recommended coping mechanisms. Of course, there is also the option of travel and change of scenery (of which we have been doing plenty lately!) Check out our trip reports from roaster/staff visits in Bolivia, Colombia and Nicaragua. We also have roaster delegations setting off to Ecuador and Peru to visit CEPICAFE and other producer coops this August as part of our Farmer to Farmer program "as we speak" - so watch for those reports next newsletter. Meanwhile, CoopCoffees is gearing up for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) of members - with a collective chill out, temporarily setting up shop in the Great White North in hosted by Bean North Roasting Company in Whitehorse, YK from August 18 to 21. So once again, we re-iterate the theme of PLANNING: for trips, for the AGM and as part of our Strategic Planning process... not to mention the day-in-day-out in preparation for the coming South American harvest and import season!
In the midst of all the above.... we're also delight to present here our newest member, Coutts Coffee in Perth, Ontario. In addition, we are pleased to introduce our newest producer partner - COPROCAEL from Honduras - and provide some interesting tidbits about them.
Enjoy your read!Let us know what changes you'd like to see in this newsletter by emailing us at bignews@coopcoffees.com.
Outreach and Communications
Roaster Exchange at the Labo Equitable
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On
July 14-15, The Labo Equitable held yet another successful Roaster Exchange! We were delighted to open our doors to JF and Simon from St.Henri Micro-Torrefacteur in Montreal, Linda from Alternative Grounds in Toronto and Gary from Heine Brothers in Louisville, KY! Their combined years of experience in roasting and cupping led to a most insightful and lively discussion and exchange!
Click here to learn more and for dates of upcoming sessions... |
Thank you to our summer interns!
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Throughout this summer both the Americus and Montreal offices enjoyed the presence of two lovely ladies working their summer internships at Cooperative Coffees. Charline (pictured at the far left) arrived at Americus from France, researched and drafted a report on West Coast and European markets and prospects and a separate survey on IMO standard adherence for our roasters. Meanwhile, up in the Montreal office, Amalia, a student of economics at McGill University, researched the development challenges in our producer partner countries and drafted a devo questionnaire to guide trip delegate interviews. We thank both interns for all their hard work!
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Roaster News
New roaster profile: Coutts Coffee!
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We are delighted to announce Coutts Coffee as our newest CC roaster/member! Coutts has been roasting Fair Trade and Organic coffees on a
daily basis in the beautiful town of Perth, Ontario (100 km west of
Ottawa) since May 2000. As an active member in their own community, in development work in Guatemala and in the coffee business - membership was a natural fit. We look forward to deepening the ties of new relationship as we welcome them into the CoopCoffees family! Read more about Coutts Coffee... |
On The Ground has a new website!
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On The
Ground is a non-profit organization founded by our roaster-member Higher Grounds in Traverse City, Michigan. The objective of the group is to partner with organizations and communities in coffee-growing
communities in order to bring fresh drinking water, education and health care to
those without. Their
size belies the scope of the work they do. Through networks of
individuals passionate about making a difference in the world, they have accomplished great things at a scale much larger than many non-profits of
their size! Check out On the Ground's work on their new site! |
Producer News
New producer profile: COPROCAEL!
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We've been getting great feedback from roasters about our newest offering of Honduran coffees! Meanwhile, our roasters' customers are excited to learn more about COPROCAEL, the producer cooperative that brought them the loveliness in their cups. Well, we're happy to announce that we have a profile up and running with current information on the coop. |
Travel: Where in the world is Coop Coffees?
Cooperative Coffees in Bolivia!
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Witnessing Friendship and Trust in Nicaragua!
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CoopCoffees Executive Director, Janet Utecht and Third Coast Coffee roaster/owner Joe Lozano, recently had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua, visiting with CECOCAFEN and producer partner PROCOCER. Topics such as managing risk in the current market and proper protocol for quality control and cupping - were certainly important discussions to be had. But witnessing the “amistad y confianza” (friendship and trust) developed over time was unanimously deemed the highlight of the visit! |
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Santiago Paz from Cepicafe is waiting for Julia, Clay and Ariel to arrive. |
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The latest in the Fair Trade movement
A small victory against Fair-washing!
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From the Organic Consumers Association website: The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that TransFair USA, which licenses use of "fair trade" seals, modify the authorized language that accompanies seals provided for personal-care products to make clear that such products may contain only 2-5% fair-trade certified ingredients. The organization has agreed to do so.Separately, NAD has recommended that Avon Products, Inc., which advertises the "mark" body product line, modify its advertising to assure that images used in connection with a fair-trade seal do not overstate the benefits associated with purchasing Avon mark. personal care products that contain certified fair-trade ingredients. The company has agreed to do so. |
