Monthly Archives: August 2012

297. Why isn’t coffee processing more water-efficient?

2012-08-29 Comments Off on 297. Why isn’t coffee processing more water-efficient?

Today I resume this summer’s series on coffee and water resource management with a question: If there are affordable technologies out there that have a smaller water footprint than traditional wet mills, why aren’t they more widely used?  Here are some ideas.

296. Back to school special: Fair Trade reading list

2012-08-27 Comments Off on 296. Back to school special: Fair Trade reading list

Over the past few years, I have interacted both online and off with university students and faculty who have incorporated Coffeelands blog content into their studies of agroecology, journalism,  sustainable trade, etc.  Of particular interest to university readers has been the current split in the Fair Trade movement caused by Fair Trade USA’s Fair Trade […]

295. The Nation takes a ringside seat at the Fair Trade “brawl”

2012-08-23 Comments Off on 295. The Nation takes a ringside seat at the Fair Trade “brawl”

The Nation magazine, the venerable weekly that has been a progressive standard bearer since the Civil War, has weighed in on the state of the U.S. Fair Trade movement in its 10 September 2012 issue.  In “The Brawl Over Fair Trade Coffee,” The Nation writer Scott Sherman reaches farther and wider than any other coverage […]

294. Technologies to reduce coffee’s water footprint

2012-08-20 Comments Off on 294. Technologies to reduce coffee’s water footprint

In the search for technologies that can reduce the water footprint of coffee, we may not have to look too far.

293. Coffee and water resources at origin

2012-08-13 Comments Off on 293. Coffee and water resources at origin

I am writing this month about a coffee-water paradox in the coffeelands that I think has at least three dimensions.  The first one is this: coffee farming may represent the leading (licit) livelihood option for farmers in the highlands, but it is a drain on scarce water resources and a leading source of water contamination […]

292. The coffee and water learning agenda

2012-08-10 Comments Off on 292. The coffee and water learning agenda

Earlier this week, I suggested that there is a coffee-water paradox in the coffeelands.  Any effort to foster a sustainable solution must begin by answering the following four questions: How much does coffee wastewater contribute to water pollution in Central America? What are the best technologies available to reduce coffee’s water footprint? What are they […]

291. The coffee and water paradox at origin

2012-08-07 Comments Off on 291. The coffee and water paradox at origin

CRS has worked with smallholder coffee farmers in Central America for 10 years to help expand the market opportunities available to them.  Over the past five years, CRS has also promoted integrated water resource management in coffee-growing communities throughout Central America.  In the process, CRS has identified — and taken initial steps to address — […]

290. Em [power] ment

2012-08-01 Comments Off on 290. Em [power] ment

Empowerment is a popular term in the fields of international development and Fair Trade.  It has been mentioned many times in the current debate over changes to the Fair Trade system — including several times on this blog — by people who are both for FT4All and against it: Ed Canty buys Fair Trade Certified […]