I'm home! And exhausted :) But all is well.
Kind of a cross-over post from the Dominican Republic, but most of the next couple posts might be a bit of a jumble anyways since I didn't get the chance to blog as things happened.
But anyways. Fairtrade. :)
If you've talked to me over the last couple months, you probably already know that I've recently become quite a fan of Fairtrade. It goes in the category of beautiful things that are and could be.
Here's a little video, which I love, cuz it captures much of the Guatemala that I know and love -- and which ties into much of what will be coming in the next couple posts - the context [aka heartbreaking reality] in which HOPE (and somewhat consequently, or parallel-y, I) finds its work among the indigenous (Mayan) populations of Guatemala. The video's a little long, but definitely worth your while if you find 10 minutes in your day. I really kinda personally really really hope you might find the time - this is "my reality", and why I hold the communities in Guatemala so dear to my heart.
BUT, why I've come to love Fairtrade so much is that it is a response to what "is" -- nonFairtrade... to bring about what could be. It makes what could be a reality - one coffee picker, one coffee farm, one community at a time. A remedy to a rather impersonal (and broken!) market system. For little more on our end than [a little loving concern] and an extra dollar here or there for a cup of coffee. A pretty happy price, I think, to get to be a part of turning the tide on non-Fairtrade (and maybe less detachedly... [unfair] [unjust] [poverty-creating] trade) which we've conveniently (un)labeled as "normal".
I'd informally chatted with our staff in the Dominican Republic about Fairtrade while doing project visits in the mountainous province of Ocoa where coffee is a big cash crop (crops for selling rather than consuming), especially when doing a visit of a latrine (toilets) project in communities of Haitian refugees, which mostly work as migrant workers on coffee farms. I'll post more about that later on my DR blog. Anyhow, I had learned that there was a man named Samuel who collected much of the coffee produced in Ocoa for processing/export - "Cafe Samir", it was called. I kind of turned my nose up at the idea cuz the owner was Swiss - why not a local Dominican? But, he supposedly had good rapport with the locals and our staff said he was a "good man". Hmm, interesting, I'll hafta get his contact details at some point before I leave. Crazily & conveniently enough, as we were stopped along a (small/little/"middle of nowhere in a mountainy community") road to say hello to a family... none other than Samuel of Cafe Samir himself, came along the road at the end of a day's work and gifted me with both a business card and a pound of coffee.
I also shared a tuk-tuk in Guatemala on the way back to San Pedro with two chirpy, bubbly, animated women on their way to another town to sell their homemade-with-love chocolate, and they were so sweet and smiley and happy I couldn't not borrow some $ from Flory to buy a bar of their chocolatey goodness.
I don't know if either of those are really "Fairtrade" by the standards and certifications of Canadian / International Fairtrade organizations, but I know at least personally that they bring about some smiles. :)
So, why this post now? Fairtrade has "nothing" directly to do with HOPE's projects and the other communities I've spent the last 2 weeks in.... but it all plays in together - redeeming the ugly and the broken, and creating beauty in its place. And who doesn't like coffee/chocolate? (well, I don't actually really drink coffee much but that's besides the point :) ). And that's what the next couple posts will be about - I'll be sharing a couple more stories on this blog, hopefully in the next couple days. BUT if you want to hear the stories (and the stories in between) from me someday... let's have some (Fairtrade) coffee/chocolate and chat! :) I also brought some certified Fairtrade coffee from Guatemala home with me, so I won't be running out too quickly. :)
Ooh, and I also brought some corn flour home with me... if you're curious about the Guatemalan staple of handmade stove-top-grilled tortillas, I'd be happy to make you some. :)
Hasta pronto. :) (Til soon!)
Arco Iris
Kind of a cross-over post from the Dominican Republic, but most of the next couple posts might be a bit of a jumble anyways since I didn't get the chance to blog as things happened.
But anyways. Fairtrade. :)
If you've talked to me over the last couple months, you probably already know that I've recently become quite a fan of Fairtrade. It goes in the category of beautiful things that are and could be.
Here's a little video, which I love, cuz it captures much of the Guatemala that I know and love -- and which ties into much of what will be coming in the next couple posts - the context [aka heartbreaking reality] in which HOPE (and somewhat consequently, or parallel-y, I) finds its work among the indigenous (Mayan) populations of Guatemala. The video's a little long, but definitely worth your while if you find 10 minutes in your day. I really kinda personally really really hope you might find the time - this is "my reality", and why I hold the communities in Guatemala so dear to my heart.
BUT, why I've come to love Fairtrade so much is that it is a response to what "is" -- nonFairtrade... to bring about what could be. It makes what could be a reality - one coffee picker, one coffee farm, one community at a time. A remedy to a rather impersonal (and broken!) market system. For little more on our end than [a little loving concern] and an extra dollar here or there for a cup of coffee. A pretty happy price, I think, to get to be a part of turning the tide on non-Fairtrade (and maybe less detachedly... [unfair] [unjust] [poverty-creating] trade) which we've conveniently (un)labeled as "normal".
I'd informally chatted with our staff in the Dominican Republic about Fairtrade while doing project visits in the mountainous province of Ocoa where coffee is a big cash crop (crops for selling rather than consuming), especially when doing a visit of a latrine (toilets) project in communities of Haitian refugees, which mostly work as migrant workers on coffee farms. I'll post more about that later on my DR blog. Anyhow, I had learned that there was a man named Samuel who collected much of the coffee produced in Ocoa for processing/export - "Cafe Samir", it was called. I kind of turned my nose up at the idea cuz the owner was Swiss - why not a local Dominican? But, he supposedly had good rapport with the locals and our staff said he was a "good man". Hmm, interesting, I'll hafta get his contact details at some point before I leave. Crazily & conveniently enough, as we were stopped along a (small/little/"middle of nowhere in a mountainy community") road to say hello to a family... none other than Samuel of Cafe Samir himself, came along the road at the end of a day's work and gifted me with both a business card and a pound of coffee.
 |
| Samuel, of Cafe Samir in Ocoa, Dominican Republic |
I also shared a tuk-tuk in Guatemala on the way back to San Pedro with two chirpy, bubbly, animated women on their way to another town to sell their homemade-with-love chocolate, and they were so sweet and smiley and happy I couldn't not borrow some $ from Flory to buy a bar of their chocolatey goodness.
 |
| Janelle & Estrella... and their proudly home-made-with love chocolate bar that I brought home with me |
I don't know if either of those are really "Fairtrade" by the standards and certifications of Canadian / International Fairtrade organizations, but I know at least personally that they bring about some smiles. :)
So, why this post now? Fairtrade has "nothing" directly to do with HOPE's projects and the other communities I've spent the last 2 weeks in.... but it all plays in together - redeeming the ugly and the broken, and creating beauty in its place. And who doesn't like coffee/chocolate? (well, I don't actually really drink coffee much but that's besides the point :) ). And that's what the next couple posts will be about - I'll be sharing a couple more stories on this blog, hopefully in the next couple days. BUT if you want to hear the stories (and the stories in between) from me someday... let's have some (Fairtrade) coffee/chocolate and chat! :) I also brought some certified Fairtrade coffee from Guatemala home with me, so I won't be running out too quickly. :)
Ooh, and I also brought some corn flour home with me... if you're curious about the Guatemalan staple of handmade stove-top-grilled tortillas, I'd be happy to make you some. :)
Hasta pronto. :) (Til soon!)
Arco Iris
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| A beautiful Guatemalan painting of coffee pickers hand-painted by my friend Jose in San Pedro... which I bought & brought home with me... and which I'll try to see if some ethically-minded coffee shops in Vancouver might like to have as well. :) |
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