The UCC Coffee Project means that your congregation can now partner with UCC Justice and Witness Ministries and Equal Exchange in building fair trade for small farming communities by serving fairly traded coffee, tea and cocoa for justice at fellowship hour on Sundays.
The UCC Coffee Project is a new way for your congregation to join hands with communities in the developing world. As Christians we can address a consumer dilemma by buying coffee that is fairly traded. Through the project, coffee farmers and their families gain more control over their lives, earn a fairer share of income, have access to credit and technical support, and gain a trading partner they can trust, a fair trade organization called Equal Exchange. And, through the project, members of your congregation can learn about consumption habits that support small scale farmers and workers throughout the world and encourage careful stewardship of God's creation. At fellowship hour, you will be taking action in a spirit of love.
NEW!!! Coffee Chronicles: Talkin' Coffee and Other Fair Trade Products, Issue I, is the brand new electronic newsletter of the UCC Coffee Project. Check out this first, February 2008, issue on-line for news of immersion trips to coffee growing regions, news of a congregation joining the UCC Coffee Project, and just news of how your congregation can get involved. This publication is created by Mike Rowe, Justice and Witness Ministries Board Member with a passion for justice and fair trade.
What's Brewing at Equal Exchange? Link to Equal Exchange fair trade newsletter.
General Synod activities highlight UCC Coffee Project... Read about activities that helped participants at General Synod 26 learn more about the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries' partner, Equal Exchange, a 100% Fair Trade, worker-owned co-operative.
A bitter cup? Facts about coffee
- Coffee is one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world.
- Americans drink approximately 320 million cups of coffee every day?20 percent of the world's total coffee production.
- Some 20 million people near the equator depend on coffee for their livelihood, but for many the coffee trade keeps them trapped in poverty. With little access to markets, farmers often sell through middlemen who offer the lowest price possible. With world coffee prices in constant flux, farmers have no guarantee of how much they will receive for their crop.
Fair Trade Standards and Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange Coffee is a worker-owned fair trade company, founded in 1986, that offers consumers fairly traded gourmet coffee direct from small-scale farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Equal Exchange seeks to establish an alternative model of trade, one that benefits small farmers directly through the following fair trade standards that apply to all Equal Exchange products:
- Always pay a guaranteed minimum price to the farmer.
- Work directly with democratic cooperatives of small scale farmers.
- Provide vital advance credit to farmers.
- Encourage ecologically sustainable farming practices.
- Develop long-term trade relations based on trust and respect.
- Offer consumers the finest gourmet, certified organic, shade-grown coffees.
How to Be Part of the UCC Coffee Project
- Serve fair trade coffee, tea and cocoa at fellowship hour, church events, in the office and at home.
- Design congregational fund raising projects featuring fairly traded coffee, tea, and cocoa. Give fair trade gift baskets as thank you gifts.
- Order educational resources along with your coffee and make space and time in your congregation for conversation about justice in the global economy.
- Encourage other places of worship or businesses in your community to partner with Equal Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Project.
Important Additional Information
To Order... or direct questions to Equal Exchange
For more information about the UCC Coffee Project, go on line to Equal Exchange's Interfaith Coffee Program at equalexchange.com/interfaith/, or e-mail interfaith@equalexchange.com, or call 781-830-0303 x 228.
Order directly at store.yahoo.com/equalexchange or download a UCC Coffee Project Order Form directly from Equal Exchange.
Orde
r a UCC Coffee Project Travel Mug for $2.00 using the purchase code 46455.
Direct questions about the UCC Coffee Project to UCC Justice and Witness Ministries by phone at 866-822-8224 or e-mail at coffee@ucc.org.
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