Caffe
Ibis is a proud licensee of TransFair USA and offers
Fair Trade certified organic coffees. Purchasing
Fair Trade certified
coffee is ensuring that the coffee farmers recieve
fair wages and product compensation for their labor
when selling
their coffee. Consumers are encouraged to look
for the TransFair USA Fair Trade Certified seal
to be sure you are purchasing a certified Fair
Trade product.
Clearly,
no agricultural product is sustainable if prices are too
low to support the investment of time, energy and money.
In the case of specialty organic coffee, the investment
is very high, indeed. Mountain grown, specialty grade, organically
grown, and shade grown coffee represent one of the most
labor-intensive crops grown on earth. The extra hand labor
in care of the coffee tree, repeated selective picking,
care in processing, drying, sorting, packaging, and storing
all contribute to superior cup quality. At today's retail
prices of between $9 and $13 per pound (11 to 22 cents per
cup), it also represents one of the world's best values.
However,
as with other agricultural endeavors, the farmer receives
a tiny fraction of that selling price. Large corporate farms
and coyote speculators exploit small farmers by meeting
the growers on the long road to market with their highly
perishable crop on their backs. Yes, the Juan Valdez with
a donkey carrying Colombian coffee in television commercials
is a fantasy for too many small farmers. A Fair Trade certified
price differential can make the difference between a donkey,
a floor over the dirt of a home, or an elementary school
education for a child.
Clearly,
Fair Trade certification is a key element for a sustainable
coffee future. Farmers everywhere do hard, demanding, highly
speculative work, often out of a love of the land and a
love of the occupation. Without a fair price for their crops,
all the love in the world will not pull them out of a nosedive
into oblivion. With that oblivion we will all be condemned
to a life without the energy and inspiration that foods
of quality give to us.
discoverfairtrade.org
TransFair
USA
Fair
Trade Federation
Certified
Organic Coffee | Certified Shade
Grown | Certified Fair Trade
Mountain Grown Specialty Grade
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