THE LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
FAIR TRADE COFFEE PROJECT

Fair Trade: A Taste of Justice

Fair Trade is a new link to people with whom LWR works overseas. By buying directly, paying a fair price and providing advance credit, Fair Trade organizations help small farmers in the developing world build a sustainable future for themselves and their families.

Rosario Castellon works with PRODECOOP, a coffee cooperative working with LWR's partner in Nicaragua. Proceeds from Fair Trade have helped the coop invest in farm improvements, reduce bank debt, improve nutrition, build schools and health care centers, and provide administrative training for members. "The gap between the few who are in power and the poor is large," says Castellon. "Fair Trade gives more opportunities to move ahead."

La Union Majomut, a coop in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, is vital to its members' efforts to hold on to their land and strengthen their communities. With Fair Trade earnings, the coop provides services that are otherwise unavailable: credit, training programs, health care, and education. Now an organic vegetable and free-range chicken project is helping women in the coop gain access to local markets.

"We used to live in houses made of corn husks," says Don Miguel Sifontes, president of a coffee cooperative that sells to Equal Exchange in El Salvador. "Now we have better work, better schools, homes of adobe, and a greater brotherhood of decision-makers."

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Questions? Email fairtrade@lwr.org to learn more.
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