Equal Exchange - Fair Trade Coffee
In June 2007 Plymouth began serving Fair Trade coffee during Fellowship. Coffee is available for purchase during Fellowship, following the worship service. Regular $5.50 Decaf $6.00
Coffee - A bitter cup?Coffee is big business - it's one of the most
heavily traded commodities in the world. But for the majority of small
coffee farmers, the benefits are small. The chain of events that leads
from the coffee farm to your cup is long, often leaving the farmer with
very little to live on.
Most small coffee farmers live in isolated communities in some of the
poorest countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Cut off from
markets, they usually sell their coffee through middlemen, known to
Central American farmers as "coyotes." With world prices in
constant flux and coyotes offering the lowest price possible, farmers
never know how much they'll get for their crops.
Some 20 million people living near the equator depend on coffee for
their livelihood. In their struggle just to make a simple living, the
producers of a rich crop are often trapped in poverty. In recent years,
a crisis in the world coffee market has meant that many farmers
typically receive less than the cost of production for their beans.
But there is an alternative: FAIR TRADE. Fair trade shares the bounty of
the coffee trade with those who grow the crop, helping them build a
better future for themselves and their communities.
Pastor Todd's Sermon on Fair Trade Coffee
Reflections on the Rising Coffee Market
Equal Exchange Model of Fair Trade
Equal Exchange Farmer Partners