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We're
filled with the promise of growth and renewal this
month. The appearance of early spring flowers and
the more moderate temperatures signal an end to
winter cocooning and the beginning of our yearly
love affair with the great outdoors (especially
biking!).
This
month in Fair Grounds, our staffer Beth
tells us about her trip to Nicaragua's CECOCAFEN
cooperative and introduces us to a women's sewing
co-op she visited during her travels. We also
report on a recent Nicaraguan visitor, whose stop
in the Twin Cities was part of a nationwide tour
to promote the region's coffee (available next
month from Peace Coffee!). Those stories, plus a look at how
Peace Coffee is helping spread the Fair Trade
message on college campuses during Earth Week, a
new recipe, a Fair Trade Fact and a trivia
question, make for a very interesting issue.
Settle in with a big ol' mug of Peace Coffee and
read on!
(Back
to Headlines)
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by
Beth Backen, Peace Coffee, with help from Larry
Larson of Larry’s Beans
The
visit in Nicaragua was planned as an exposure tour
for members and clients interested in learning
more CECOCAFEN -- confronting the development
needs of 20+ base-community organizations, while
operating a processing plant and large-scale
marketing operation for national and international
exports in a time of on-going coffee price crisis.
You could say that it was a meeting of two worlds.
We arrived with our backpacks, replete with downy
sleeping bags, triple changes of clothes, and
antiseptic hand lotion, with video cameras
rolling, and digital and manual camera clicking.
They came with the ingenuity of necessity and
endless enthusiasm to share with us their newest
community project, The Coffee Tourism Trail.
more...
(Back
to Headlines)
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 Last
week we were honored to welcome and host César Zeledón
from CECOCAFEN in one of the many stops on his Global
Exchange-sponsored national tour. CECOCAFEN is a
1,900-member Nicaraguan Fair Trade coffee cooperative,
whose mission is to produce high quality coffee, give the
best service and make "fair trade in the field"
a reality. CECOCAFEN’s farmers produce coffee in harmony
with the local ecology, using the shade of native and
planted trees. Close to one half of the farmers are
certified organic, and hundreds more avoid using chemical
inputs, thus improving flavor and quality. Last harvest,
the co-op invested their Fair Trade earnings in health
care for all members and their families. This year, they
plan to use the extra earnings to improve the community
meeting house, renovate bridges and roads, and help more
members transition to organic production.
more...
(Back
to Headlines)
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| by
Beth Backen
 In
a little town on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua,
there is a small sewing cooperative that provides big
inspiration. On a recent visit to Nicaragua, I had an
opportunity to meet some of the women who organized
Maquiladora Mujeres, a worker-owned operation. The project
was started in the aftermath of 1998's Hurricane Mitch.
Said to be the most powerful hurricane in the recorded
history of the western hemisphere, the storm displaced
thousands of people around Lake Managua. Some, including
the women in the sewing co-op, resettled in Ciudad Sandino.
more...
(Back
to Headlines)
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Peace
Coffee is teaming up with various Midwest
Universities and Colleges to promote Earth Week
with sustainable Fair Trade coffee. By offering
Peace Coffee to their students, college campuses
demonstrate an alternative approach to consumerism
based on the belief that your purchases can
positively impact the environment and create more
equitable trading relationships. You can be green,
help farmers and enjoy a great tasting cup of
coffee all at the same time. Is this a great
world, or what?
A
big thank you to the schools serving Peace Coffee
during Earth Week:
University
of Wisconsin La Crosse
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Augsburg College
Hamline University
Macalester University
St. Kate’s University
St. Thomas University
University of Minnesota
(Back
to Headlines)
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| We're
giving away coffee!
Think
you know a lot about coffee? Then enter our Fair
Grounds Trivia Contest. Click
here for our question of the month. Entering is easy
and it's FUN!
Dennis
Fordham knew that coffee was first
served in Europe in Italy. The Venetians were the
first to introduce coffee to Europe in 1615. By
1632, coffee houses began to flourish throughout
the continent, becoming centers of social and
cultural activity. Congratulations, Dennis!
(Back
to Headlines)
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Only
Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar,
and fat.
--
author Alex Levine
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Fair
Grounds is produced by:
Cooperative
Coffees
Contact
Information:
Orders
and General Information
Phone - 612.870.3440 or 1.888.324.7872
Fax - 612-677-3989
E-Mail - info@peacecoffee.com
Web - http://www.peacecoffee.com
Peace
Coffee Crew*:
Anna
Canning
Beth Backen
Katie
Harrod
Rachael Hiltsley
Melanee Meegan
Michelle Ramier
TJ Semanchin
Scott Patterson
*We
work together to get the coffee out to our customers.
Although we have specific job titles, we all take turns
switching roles and putting in time where it's needed
most.
Peace
Coffee Bikers*:
Brad
Wilson
*Our bikers pack a mean trailer full of coffee. They are
speedy as speedy gets. Watch out, when they are on the
street, they mean business!
Fair
Grounds is designed by:
Starstruck
Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01376
Contact
Information:
Don Kruger - dkruger@starstruckdesign.com
Lynn Nichols - lnichols@starstruckdesign.com
Phone - 413.863.7752
Fax - 413-863-7752
Web -
http://www.starstruckdesign.com
You
are receiving your Fair Grounds e-newsletter
because you told us you wanted to get it, or a good
friend of yours suggested to us that you would like to
get it. If you like it, let us know. If you want to
suggest ways that we can make it better, let us know.
Our e-mail is info@peacecoffee.com
If
you would like to unsubscribe to the Fair Grounds
E-Newsletter because:
- You may have more than one e-mail address on our list.
- Your e-mail address may have changed.
- You're going on a six month visit of Latin American
Coffee Cooperatives (Take us with you).
- or any other reason
simply send an e-mail to: newsletter-off@peacecoffee.com
and put your e-mail address in the subject line.
Remember,
you are always welcome to visit our website at http://www.peacecoffee.com
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