Category: Farmworkers

Brazil’s Congress convenes hearing on modern slavery in the coffee sector

2016-06-09 Coffeelands Comments Off

Next week, a public hearing in Brazil’s Câmara dos Deputados will explore the issue of modern slavery in the country’s coffee sector. The Human Rights Commission and the Labor Commission have jointly convened the gathering, scheduled for Wednesday, 15 June at 2 pm in meeting room #9. The event was organized by the Articulação dos Empregados […]

Brazil’s Supreme Court lifts ban on “Dirty List”

2016-06-08 Coffeelands Comments Off

Brazil’s Supreme Court has lifted its injunction on one of the most powerful and distinctive tools in the country’s campaign to eradicate slave labor, clearing the way for its reinstatement after a suspension that lasted nearly 17 months. The “Dirty List”—a public registry of employers found by the Ministry of Labor to be employing workers […]

Georgia on my mind

2016-06-07 Coffeelands Staff Comments Off

Nearly two months have passed since the curtains closed on the 2016 SCAA events in Atlanta, but like the great Ray Charles, I still have Georgia on my mind. Three Ps stand out in my reflections: Policy, Progress and Paul Katzeff.

Incentivizing farmer-led renovation in Guatemala

2016-05-23 Kraig Kraft Comments Off

A few months ago, in the offices of Anacafé in Guatemala City, the II Cumbre de la Roya was held, 2 years after the initial meeting. The objective of the meeting was to take stock of what has happened since the first meeting and to see how the Central American coffee sector was recovering from […]

SCAA Publishes Blueprint for Farmworker Inclusion

2016-04-19 Coffeelands Staff Comments Off

Mostly lost last week amid all the excitement of Re:co Atlanta and The SCAA Event was the release of A Blueprint for Farmworker Inclusion. Download the publication here, and read on for additional context. . .

CRS Policy Brief: Slave labor in Brazilian coffee. (And what we can do about it.)

2016-04-13 Coffeelands Comments Off

When we learned in the summer of 2013 that inspectors from Brazil’s Ministry of Labor found evidence that 15 coffee farms had employed workers under what the country calls “conditions analogous to slavery,” we were shocked. The revelation raised lots of questions: What does “slavery” mean in Brazil in 2013? How widespread is the practice […]

The SCAA Event: Annual Coffeelands Preview

2016-03-22 Coffeelands Staff Comments Off

In less than one month the gavel will sound to open The SCAA Event. That means it’s time for the annual Coffeelands preview of The Event’s best “origin content.” In my 2012 SCAA preview post, I divided my picks into three “streams of enlightenment”—“downstream” presentations that push knowledge of origin toward the marketplace, “upstream” presentations […]

Fichas de Finca

2016-03-14 Coffeelands Staff Comments Off

When I was a kid, I collected coins. I know, I know. TOTAL nerd. Eventually, I stopped collecting them. But I never really got over them. And I never got rid of them. They are still in a bedroom closet in the house where I grew up. Next to my baseball cards. Over the past […]

Where the Danwatch exposé on slavery in Brazil falls short

2016-03-08 Coffeelands Comments Off

Yesterday, we shared our perspective on the many ways in which this hard-hitting exposé on modern slavery in Brazil’s coffee sector hit the mark. Today, where it may miss the mark. Or at least, where it may leave readers wanting more. .

Review: Danwatch exposé on slavery in Brazilian coffee

2016-03-07 Coffeelands Comments Off

Last week, the Danish human rights organization Danwatch released this hard-hitting exposé on modern slavery in Brazil’s coffee sector. Rather than summarize its key findings, we suggest anyone interested in farm labor, the future of coffee supply, or the evolving conversation on coffee sustainability should read it in its entirety. Instead, we offer something closer […]