Adjunct Instructor/ Photojournalist www.glhowe.com
Some of Howe's recent work, which has been published, shown in coffee shops as far away as Montreal, and presented to NMC classes, revolves around coffee producers from the Highlands of Chiapas Mexico. The images have been used to highlight why consumers in the north need to buy fair trade coffee.
For more information and to view images, please follow this link: Documentary-FairTrade coffee.
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Buy Fair Trade Coffee: History
Fair Trade coffee is sold by coffee companies that roast Fair Trade coffee, which has been bought at a industry minimum of $1.26 per pound. A pound of coffee costs around $.80 to produce, and if we buy Fair Trade coffee, we know the price paid insures that money can be put into community development. The Fair Trade price is achieved by eliminating a number of middlemen, or "coyotes", who take advantage of often desperate farmers. If you buy Fair Trade coffee you are channeling money into socially responsible enterprises that help support families and communities.
Buy Fair Trade Coffee: Importer
Chiapas, one of many traditional coffee producing areas, suffers from the increasing concentration of wealth and power. The attempt to buy fair trade coffee is hindered by the setting of low prices on the commodity exchange, which is based on supply and demand. Coffee is the second largest commodity behind oil and market prices do not take in account the living standards of the coffee producers. Coffee importers take advantage of this to increasingly lower the cost of importing quality beans.
To learn where to buy fair trade coffee, follow this link: Buy Fair trade Coffee
For more images and stories, visit: www.lifeonearth.gatheringblogs.org