Tag Archives: Nicaragua

170. What that study really said

2011-05-24 Comments Off on 170. What that study really said

The study on the economic impacts of Fair Trade and organic certifications that appeared in a recent issue of Ecological Economics has prompted some good, informed discussion, but also its share of distortion.  After carefully reading (and re-reading) the study, here is my take on it as someone who works with both certified and non-certified […]

168. What do you (think you) know about sustainability?

2011-05-20 Comments Off on 168. What do you (think you) know about sustainability?

At last month’s SCAA Symposium, we were invited to reexamine our assumptions about sustainability in coffee — what we think we know about the issue that may not be true.  At the time, I thought that exercise produced some provocative responses.  And then I read a recent study on the impacts of organic and Fair […]

167. Throwing haymakers at Fair Trade

2011-05-18 Comments Off on 167. Throwing haymakers at Fair Trade

World Fair Trade Day is observed every year on the second Saturday of May.  Historically, it has been a time to educate consumers about the impacts of their consumer habits, motivate them to make socially responsible choices and celebrate the developmental advances of Fair Trade.  This year, it was the occasion for something else — […]

164. Another home run in Las Sabanas

2011-05-11 Comments Off on 164. Another home run in Las Sabanas

In keeping with the baseball theme from yesterday’s post, here is another analogy between baseball and coffee quality.  Don Jaime Molina of the quality-focused 5 de junio cooperative has hit another home run in Las Sabanas: he placed a winning lot at the Nicaragua Cup Of Excellence from his Monte Cristo farm for the fourth […]

154. CRS (and friends) at SCAA 2011

2011-04-25 Comments Off on 154. CRS (and friends) at SCAA 2011

Tomorrow I travel to Houston for the annual gathering of the SCAA.  CRS has participated in some capacity in every SCAA since 2004, but this year is special.  It marks our first time participating in Symposium, our first time with a booth on the show floor (#441) and the largest CRS delegation ever.  With new […]

147. More on Counter Culture’s Direct Trade model

2011-04-12 Comments Off on 147. More on Counter Culture’s Direct Trade model

Yesterday I shared some good news:  Counter Culture Coffee is now offering a Direct Trade Certified coffee from 5 de junio, a cooperative we work with in Nicaragua under our CAFE Livelihoods project.  The cooperative has been working hard over the past few years to improve the quality of its coffee, and we are delighted […]

145. Counter Culture announces 5 de junio single-origin offering

2011-04-11 Comments Off on 145. Counter Culture announces 5 de junio single-origin offering

Counter Culture Coffee on Friday announced it is now offering a single-origin, Direct Trade Certified coffee from 5 de junio, a cooperative participating in our CAFE Livelihoods project.  While this may not be Earth-shaking news in the United States, it represents the culmination of years of hard work in a handful of coffee communities in […]

141. 5 de junio – Coffee with vision

2011-04-06 Comments Off on 141. 5 de junio – Coffee with vision

The 5 de junio cooperative sees organic specialty coffee as the key to the development of its communities.  Its confidence in this vision reflects its belief that its coffee embodies the best its communities have to offer, from the terroir of a coffee origin emerging as one of Nicaragua’s finest, to the generosity, hard work […]