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Jan Feb 2011
A Cooperative Coffees e-Newsletter for and about Fair Trade
January-February 2011
In this issue...
Reach out!
The New Year is off to a busy and exciting start, full of change and promise! We're thrilled to officially welcome Janet Utecht as our new Executive Director...and what better initiation than a cooperative travel experience in Ethiopia! The trip - and the transition - went smoothly and we're excited to see what's in store.
Speaking of what's in store for the future, we've put together a list of interesting activities and events going on in 2011 within our networks so be sure to check it out. Before getting too far ahead of ourselves though, we'll give you a couple quick highlights of what's been going on with our members, producer partners, and allies over the last several weeks. From cupping courses in the Yukon to inaugural celebrations in Ethiopia to a national response to Transfair USA's name-change, January and February have brought a "mixed bag" of news and notes! We hope you enjoy reading about it all!
Let us know what changes you'd like to see in this newsletter by emailing us at bignews@coopcoffees.com.
Outreach and Communications
A big welcome to our new ED, Janet Utecht!
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After many months of planning and several weeks of searching, interviewing, and deliberating...Cooperative Coffees is proud to announce that Janet Utecht will be taking over the Executive Director position from our dear founder and director of 10+ years, Bill Harris! Janet joined our team in January, when she "hit the ground running": in the span of a weekend, she ended her stint with the Peace Corps in Ecuador and hopped on a flight to Ethiopia for a two-week coop delegation. We may have only just met her, but with that kind of stamina, we know she's up to the challenge of steering the Coop Coffees ship! We're thrilled to have her with us - please join all of us at Cooperative Coffees in giving Janet a big, warm welcome! |
Another eye-opening experience at the CoopSol AGM in Ethiopia
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Jet-lag behind us, piles of snow built up around us, and lots of work to catch up on...January’s visit to Ethiopia seems a distant memory for the roasters, staff members, and kids who participated in the delegation. The two-week visit covered a lot of ground, beginning with a 10-kilometer run that marked the last stretch of the Run Across Ethiopia, and ending with a tour of the impressive new dry processing facilities of Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. |
Looking ahead: 2011 Event Calendar
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Time to pull out your calendars: 2011 is shaping up to be a full and fruitful year! From cupping courses to conferences, there are several events on the horizon that are happening within our networks. We've compiled a list of upcoming happenings to give you an initial snapshot of the year...be sure to check back in for additional updates! |
Roaster News
Memories from the Run Across Ethiopia
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What could be as insurmountable a task as running across Ethiopia? How about going through the thousands of photos, videos, and digital memories of the Run Across Ethiopia?! Chris Treter, owner of Higher Grounds and founder of On the Ground (non-profit organization that facilitated the run), spent the better part of the last month compiling and organizing all the different multimedia snapshots of the run. What he came up with gives you a thorough and colorful overview of the experience in Ethiopia -- it may even make you feel like you were there! |
Learning how to cup in the Yukon; Bean North gives public courses
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In November, Bean North hosted its first public cupping course...which was such a smashing success that they quickly scheduled (and filled!) a second round of classes for February. The course begins with presentations on "crop-to-cup" basics and proper cupping protocol followed by several rounds of cupping with a variety of coffees. It ends with snacks and a Q&A session. This is yet another great example of how our members get involved with their local communities...and "spread the joy" of learning about great coffee and how to truly enjoy it! |
Producer News
New profile: Cerro de Cintepec
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Tucked away in the Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz, Mexico lies Cerro de Cintepec Cooperative. "Cintepec Hill" is located near the Laguna de Catemaco, a beautifully picturesque lake surrounded by volcanoes and a neotropical rainforest similar to that found in the Amazon. About half of the members in Cerro de Cintepec Cooperative are native Popoluca. Coop Coffees has been importing coffee from Cerro de Cintepec through REDCAFES for our Mexican decaf but starting in 2011, we'll also be importing a couple lots of regular coffee as well. |
OCFCU opens inaugurates new processing center
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On January 28th, 2011, the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union officially inaugurated its brand new dry processing center. This impressive (to say the least!) new facility holds the Union's offices, a bank run by the Union, a cafeteria and first aid clinic for the employees, and a massive warehouse with state-of-the-art machinery, 350 female pickers, 50 male loaders...and enough moving coffee to make your head spin!! The center is first privately owned processing plant and will hull, clean, sort, select, bag, and stack approximately 10,000 tonnes of green coffee! |
Travel: Where in the world is Coop Coffees?
Travel to El Salvador with Just Coffee
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In March, Just Coffee heads down to El Salvador for a visit with producer groups Las Marias 93 and APICAFE which are located in the eastern part of the country. It'll be their first public delegation to El Salvador and they'll be traveling with FUNDE (a non-governmental research station and development organization in El Salvador). The trip has been filled to capacity for participants...but be sure to check in again for the next round of delegations! |
The latest in the Fair Trade movement
Equal Exchange blogs about recent TransFair namechange
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As you may have seen (and hopefully signed!) in our last newsletter, the campaign against fair trade certifier, TransFair USA's recent name-change (to Fair Trade USA), launched by the Organic Consumers Association has exploded over the last couple weeks and gained more than 9000 signatures! Equal Exchange's Phyllis Robinson shares her thoughts in an eloquent, well-written blog article that gives a lot of insight into the situation and what it means to "own" (or not own) Fair Trade. |
World Fair Trade Day is on its way!
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It's that time of year when Fair Traders all over the globe gear up for World Fair Trade Day, an international day dedicated to celebrating the movement! In North America, businesses, nonprofit organizations, churches, student groups, civic associations, families, stores and advocates host hundreds of events – including Fair Trade food tastings, talks, music concerts, fashion shows and much more – to promote Fair Trade and campaign for trade justice together with farmers & artisans. Be sure to check out what's happening in your community - many of our members will be hosting events! |
The Guardian's take on farmers and climate change
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Farmers all over the world have been feeling and dealing with the effects of climate change for years now. We've witnessed and heard about its impact on our partners all over Latin America and as this article from the Guardian reports, countries in Africa are also suffering from global warming and erratic weather patterns. Coffee, like most agricultural products, requires a specific climate to grow. If something doesn't happen to alter the path of climate change, we could see some pretty major transformations in where and how (and if!) coffee can grow around the globe. Thanks to the Progreso Network blog for posting this article! |
