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Rigoberto in Madison
Rigoberto had quite the busy post-AGM schedule as well! He spent the following week visiting with solidarity groups in Illinois and New York associated with Catholic Relief Services -- a close ally of Cooperative Coffees -- before heading back west to Madison, WI!
After a week in Chicago and New York, marketing manager of MICHIZA, Rigoberto Diaz ended his cross-country tour in Madison, Wisconsin to hang out with member-roaster Just Coffee. Though he was only in town for four days, the folks at Just Coffee had prepared a number of varied activies to give him a good idea of the context in which his coop's coffee beans were being sold and enjoyed. Being involved in a number of Fair Food initiatives themselves, Just Coffee also wanted to share with Rigoberto some of the work being done in the agricultural sector of the U.S. -- something that, as a farmer, he could certainly relate to.
Rigoberto speaks at Just Coffee roastery | His visit began with a reception at Just Coffee's roastery to which they invited a bunch of customers -- mainly their cafe accounts -- for a "nice, frank discussion" (in the words of JC's Matt Earley) about Fair Trade. Rigoberto took the opportunity to speak about how Fair Trade was working "on the ground" for his community and for Michiza -- to give a first-hand picture of the effects of an alternative system of trade. The people that came to the talk ranged in their knowledge and interest in Fair Trade issues but few could leave the discussion with luke-warm feelings about a model of trade that was clearly changing the lives of many people in a very direct way. |
The next day, Just Coffee partnered up wth Family Farm Defenders (local NGO) to take Rigoberto on a grand tour (200 mile radius!) of local family and community farms. FFD focuses on issues such as Domestic Fair Trade (promoting fair labor conditions for workers on farms -- and in factories --across the U.S.) and naturally, makes connections with the International Fair Trade movement. Partnerships with farmer coops like Michiza create wonderful opportunities for cross-border solidarity. Rigoberto witnessed some of the difficulties of the North American agricultural system and the ways in which groups like FFD are coping with and changing them.
One morning, Rigoberto visited the University of Wisconsin as a guest speaker at a round table discussion for the Latin American Studies program. Though he and Matt weren't expecting the impressive turnout they got (considering the short-term notice of the event), they were thrilled to see such enthusiasm among the students and professors. The discussion itself was quite animated: Rigoberto explained how Mexican emigration was affecting communities such as those of Michiza -- a side of the 
story that Americans so rarely hear. By the time they had to move on to their next event, Matt had to literally drag Rigoberto out of the discussion room; the students just couldn't get enough. What a refreshing experience to see and feel the energy being poured into learning about Fair Trade and our coffee-growing partners!
The rest of the day was filled with a tour of Just Coffee's stomping grounds. Cafe owners, roasters, and customers spoke with Rigoberto about quality control of coffee and about the price breakdown of the beans they sold. The final price of a pound of coffee as sold in the American market is a constant point of interest and concern amongst the farmers. Just Coffee has always strived for total transparency in their prices (they'll have the price breakdown chart on all their coffee bags by Christmas 2008) and wanted Rigoberto to be able to convey the information to his fellow coop members once he got back to Oaxaca.
After a short stop to catch the regional roller derby championship (to which Rigoberto had little to say other than "it's a whole other world!") and a visit with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (an organization devoted to advocating for fair wages for immigrant workers in Florida) to discuss the common threads between farmers in Mexico and immigrant workers in the U.S., the time for Rigoberto to return to Mexico had come.
Rigoberto's visit to Madison proved rewarding for everyone involved. It exemplified the utility and importance of establishing and maintaining partnerships with producers and farmers across the world. It also showed that, despite being from different countries and in different contexts, we all share common threads and fight for similar causes whether in our own country or abroad. Fair Trade connects our struggles and strengthens our efforts to overcome them. |  Staff at JC give Rigo a thumbs-up |
