Fair Grounds - Peace Coffee

Changing Lives Through Fair Trade
Notes From the Co-op Coffees AGM by Keith Tomlinson and Lee Wallace
Bike Heaven
Can Fair Trade Change Your Life? by Jacqueline DeCarlo
Roaster's Corner: Keith Divulges the Origins of Roots Blend Espresso
Show Your Peace Coffee Pride and WIN!
Quote of the Month
Past Issues of Fair Grounds

One of the things the Peace Coffee crew is really grateful for this Thanksgiving is the opportunity to change people's lives through Fair Trade. Keith and Lee saw this first hand when they traveled to Nicaragua for the Cooperative Coffees' Annual General Meeting in September. Read about the inspiring gathering in this issue of Fair Grounds. We also offer a report on Tracy's bike tour to Tuscany with Mello Velo, and a piece from Jackie DeCarlo on her new book Fair Trade: A Beginner's Guide. That plus a new recipe perfect for holiday gift-giving and a Roaster's Corner on our Roots Roast and we've put together a tasty little issue. Settle in with a steaming mug of Peace Coffee and read on...

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by Keith Tomlinson and Lee Wallace

Keith Tomlinson and Lee Wallace, (Peace Coffee's Head Roaster and Director, respectively) traveled to Nicaragua for the Annual General Meeting of Cooperative Coffees. Peace Coffee is a founding member of this cooperatively-run green bean importing business. Co-op Coffees allows small Fair Trade coffee companies to work collectively to pool resources, see results and build relationships that would not be available if we were to simply function alone. Keith currently serves as the Chair of the Green Committee, which works on sourcing coffees and quality issues for the Co-op and Lee is the Secretary of the Board of Directors. This is their report on what went down at the AGM.

In late September, we traveled to Matagalpa to participate in a lively ten days visiting coffee farms and processing plants and attending meetings where we exchanged ideas and opinions with representatives from both producer cooperatives and other coffee roasters. This year's Cooperative Coffees Annual General meeting brought together 32 farmers and leaders from 18 cooperatives in Latin America, 36 roaster representatives from the US and Canada, along with numerous allies who support our work in the areas of development, finance and certification.

More...

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Around the holidays it's hard not to go into vacation mode. It becomes something to look forward too especially since the time has changed and here in Minnesota we saw our first snowfall, although it only lasted for 15 minutes. Most of us are excited about time off to relax, visit with friends and family and for some of us traveling is part of the vacation. Tracy Singleton, owner of the Birchwood Café, recently had the opportunity to go on a dream vacation. For her nothing beats "good real food" and biking across beautiful terrain. So Tracy joined a group of five female riders on a Mello Velo bike tour of Tuscany, Italy.

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Last month during the whirlwind of Fair Trade month events, Peace Coffee had the pleasure of hosting our good friend and Senior Program Advisor to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Jackie DeCarlo. She recently released a book that we consider a most effective introduction to understanding how Fair Trade works in a global, societal, and personal context. Jackie read from her book and took audience questions at Common Roots Café and St. Catherine's College. Do read what she had to say about her visit check out her blog posting titled "Can you have a crush on a coffee company?" (Jackie is making us blush!).

Back to her book, whether you know a lot or just a little about the way Fair Trade works, this book is worth checking out. You can buy a copy on our website or ask your local bookstore to order a copy.

by Jacqueline DeCarlo

To me, Fair Trade can be just as important to Peace Coffee customers as it is to coffee farmer partners, and not just because coffee lovers enjoy tasty jolts of java. Of course, I don't want in any way to minimize the struggles of poverty or lack of opportunity that coffee farmers face. I know those of us who buy Peace Coffee beans have a host of privileges that our friends in the coffee producing countries rarely enjoy. The laptop I am typing this article on with the help of a wireless connection is just one example. But as we make our way in U.S. society we are bombarded with messages and traditions that suggest who we are as individuals is directly related to what we own or what zip codes we have. Just as we are concerned about the human dignity of those who lack healthy food and clean drinking water, I think we should be concerned about the moral and emotional deficiencies faced by those living in a culture driven by materialism. Through conscious consumption, Fair Trade can transform the lives of folks at the end of the supply chain just as it does the lives of farmers at the beginning, and that's why I wrote Fair Trade: A Beginner's Guide.

The book is my attempt to explain where Fair Trade comes from, how it works, and who powers its growth and evolution. It shares facts and figures, and draws on real-life experiences and expertise of Fair Trade companies such as Peace Coffee, highlighting inspiring stories of average consumers and producers. Beyond offering up history lessons, role models, and action items, the book also tries to make the case that Fair Trade helps consumers — especially those of us in the United States and Canada — make sense of our societies' drive to acquire and accumulate.

As readers of this newsletter know, when you choose Fair Trade through companies like Peace Coffee you aren't choosing just a product, you are becoming part of a movement that promotes values based on concern for people and the planet. You are involved in a partnership that benefits all the participants along the crop to cup trail. It may sound like a lot of heady stuff steaming up from a cup of coffee, but the people and Fair Trade Organizations you'll read about in the book are proof positive that Fair Trade changes lives. I hope you find the book a useful resource to help it expand your notion of what is possible beyond just a delicious cup of coffee!

To keep up on Jackie's book tour and Fair Trade travels check out her regularly updated blog at: http://www.jacqdecarlo.blogspot.com/

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Wow! We got three great submissions this month and we just couldn't choose, so they're all winners. Congratulations all around!

The Pumpkin was carved by Jason Sinnwell. He is a member of the Peace Coffee bike team.

The bike photo is of Peace Coffee Controller, Joe Moskowtiz, on vacation in October with his wife and friends biking around Hawaii. The picture pose looks like a scene out of greased lighting, only with bikes.

The Salzburg photo was sent in by Anita Prammer, a former IATP intern who is from Austria. The bag is resting on a modern bike sculpture in Salzburg the fourth-largest city in Austria. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for parts of the musical and film The Sound of Music, which actually really is a great movie. Salzburg is also a student city, with three universities.

If you're passionate about Peace Coffee, show it! Send us:

-- a photo showing your "Peace Coffee Pride”

-- a short written testimonial about how much you love us

-- an original coffee poem or haiku (three lines, 5 syllables in the first, 7 in the second, 5 in the last)

Each month, we’ll choose one entry to appear in the following Fair Grounds newsletter. If we choose yours, you’ll win a pound of your favorite Peace Coffee coffee. Please send your entry to mel@peacecoffee.com.

Contest ends: December 10th

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"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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Fair Grounds is produced by:
Peace Coffee

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*:
Stacy Adrianson
Anna Canning
Derek De La Paz
Kyle Feldman
Andy Lambert
Josh Lavelle
Melanee Meegan
Joe Moskowitz
Natalie Ryno
Ryan Seibold
Megan Tardiff
Keith Tomlinson
Lee Wallace
Liz Wawrzonek

*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.

Fair Grounds is designed by:

Starstruck Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354

Contact Information:
Don Kruger
Lynn Nichols
Phone - 413.863.7752
Fax - 413-863-7752
Web - http://www.starstruckdesign.com

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