Well, I just listened to myself talking for 1/2 hour on Provoke Radio! . Luckily - the program turned out excellent. Jackie DeCarlo from CRS and author of Fair Trade: A Beginner’s Guide joined me as we discussed the importance of fair trade coffee and our hopes for the future. Check it out here!
These days it’s nearly impossible to take in any news without the topic of immigration popping up. Living here in the land of cherries and family farms (Michigan’s second only to California for the variety of agricultural products produced), immigration issues are often in the forefront of our thoughts. This year is a particularly difficult one for local farmers. The steady stream of migrant workers of the past years has turned into a trickle. As if farmers don’t have enough to contend with, a shortage of workers is a grave situation for our local economy.
Migration issues weigh heavily on the coffee farming communities we buy from, as well. In Chris’s last post he talked about Maya Vinic, a farming co-op located in the Mayan Highlands of Chiapas. Tucked along breath-taking mountain tops, the villages of Mayan people who comprise Maya Vinic are isolated and, as a result, most folks still speak their Mayan language - Tzotzil - and carry on their traditional customs. In 2001 when coffee prices hit their lowest (real) price in over 100 years, it was reported by CIEPAC (an economic investigation organization in Chiapas) that 500 families were emigrating from their villages EACH WEEK.
Imagine, picking up your family, your belongings and moving to a place that you are completely unfamiliar with . . . you don’t speak the language, you don’t know the cultural norms, etc. This is not something people do on a whim.
Where are the people migrating to? Why aren’t they arriving, as usual? Are they stuck along the border - a dangerous place to be with many desperate people? These are some of my immediate questions. It’s important for us to understand the issues around migration in order to create judgement and, ultimately, policy.
So, here’s an invite to an upcoming event featuring two dear friends - Wayne Dziekan (officiated at our wedding) and Gladys Munoz (a true angel) with the hopes you’ll attend and learn more. I hope to see you there (at Kejara’s Bridge)!
6p: doors open for coffee (Higher Grounds, of course) and a special IndyFlix light-supper menu……
7p: LIVE: Immigration & Border issues: local impact………….
an interactive presentation and discussion regarding the US/Mexican Border and the impact of US Immigration Policies felt locally….update by slides and discussion on the border situation and its implications for the current growing and harvesting season…View a 19 minute documentary, The Other Side by local border activist, Mary Pierce….Participate in discussion on migrant support systems now in place and opportunities for local involvement concerning the migrant situation and prospective human rights issues………..
presenters:
Gladys Munoz a migrants’ rights advocate and pastoral worker, currently with Northwest Michigan Health Services, Inc., aka migrant and seasonal farmworkers’ clinic, as the Language and Cultural Diversity Services Coordinator.
Fr. Wayne Dziekan recently appointed as the Awareness and Action Coordinator for Justice and Peace in the Diocese of Gaylord……..
Gladys and Wayne are the founders of JPAC, the Justice and Peace Awareness Center based in Traverse City, MI. They are both members of the Alliance for Immigrant Action also based in Traverse City.
Last week I had the pleasure of trekking up through the Mayan Highlands to meet up with our old friends and first partners, the fair trade coffee cooperative of Maya Vinic. Wow, have they grown since we first met them over 6 years ago! Back then, they had no buyers and collected their organic coffee in an old wood-planked building in the refugee center of Acteal. Now, they have their own large warehouse and processing capacities, two trucks and plans to build a wet processing center across the street. After it is completed, centralized wet processing will enable farmers to simply pick the ripe cherries off their Bourbon, Caturra and Typica coffee trees and bring them to the bodega, where co-op members will process all the coffee together. This will provide growers with the capacity to more accurately and uniformly process their coffee thereby ensuring an ever more consistent cup. It will be hard to beat the handcrafted coffee they have been providing the last few years as it has been my favorite since we started Higher Grounds Trading Co.!I also stopped by Chichilton for a visit to see if they have decided to move forward on the water project we have been working on. Last year, we dug deep into the “madre tierra� in search of water. Luckily we found it exactly where a village elder had dreamed there was water! One year later, water still fills the whole and after contemplation, the community anxiously accepted the project. Chichilton is a community perched above the municipal head of Chenalho. There, 5 coffee farmers from Maya Vinic must peregrinate down the mountain to their coffee fields to pick and depulp their prize beans before carrying them up the incline to their homes where they ferment and dry their coffee.
Water is a coffee growing community’s most important resource not only for drinking and cooking, but also for washing coffee. Unfortunately, Chichilton has hardly any water. So, with the help of the Chiapas Water Project we plan to install a hand pump in the community to bring much needed water to the community. Once again, I was reminded of the significance of finding clean drinking water as I left the community and was told that traditional Mayan prayer services will be held 15 days before we start the project. Ernestina, a quite and deliberate village elder, dreamt that the well project will be a success if the community pays homage to the site by bringing the village elders to pray. Check back this fall for updates!
A pirate from Chiapas is coming to Traverse City next weekend! Don’t miss it.
Chris is returning in the wee hours tonite after a long stay in Mexico (yippee!). Our dear friend and modern-day pirate, Ramor Ryan, will be returning with him for a short visit to our lovely Northern Michigan. Ramor is originally from Ireland but has spent the past several years in Chiapas, mostly because he is the commited father of four year old son, Ixim, who resides in Chiapas with his mother.
Ramor’s book - Clandestines, Pirate Tales of an Irish Exile - is chock full of modern-day adventure stories that will leave you wondering if our friend Ramor isn’t himself a living relic from days of old when pirates ruled the seas and marauders roamed the land. Ramor has a compelling way of putting himself in the stories he composes with humor and humility. Come join us for readings, music and fun this weekend.
Friday, May 25th
**This is a house party and children will be present so please behave accordingly**
7pm (Music with Breathe Owl Breathe at 8pm)
Bonfire to follow (bring camp chairs)
B.Y.O.B. (and a freewill donation to support independent artists)
Land and Freedom House (Home of Robert & Holly)
9283 South Novak Road, Cedar
INFO: 231.228.5489
Bring your friends. Books and Cds will be available.
Saturday, May 26th at the Inside Out Gallery
Local Singer-Songwriter Miriam Pico and friends (Andy Evans on bass, Willy Jam on lead guitar and Cris Pico on drums)
www.miriampico.com
Come at 7:00 for mingling, 8:00 for music
If you haven’t heard Miriam, you’ve got to check her out! Her vocal abilities and songwriting skills will no doubt turn you into a Miriam groupie like the rest of us.
Cover is $10.00
Miriam will be donating all proceeds to the family of Marx Antony, a boy she sponsors in Bolivia, to construct a home after forced displacement from their old home. Higher Grounds TC will offer Bolivian coffee for sale, with all proceeds benefiting Marx Antony and his family.
There will be a reading from Ramor Ryan, too!
Up she goes . . our new home in Traverse City is coming together, with the help of some friends and some mighty fine builders from MAM contruction and the Minervini family. Ray Minervini, the visionary behind the Grand Traverse Commons, is a true gem . . . someone who makes you feel honored to be in his presence. His vision for the Commons is to create a “polyculture of people�, like a healthy garden full of people who complement and strengthen one another. Because of the jubilant nature of the Minervini family, most folks attracted to live and work at the Commons are cultural creatives, passionate entrepreneurs and children of all ages. This place emits energy that could put the Northern Lights out of business. Sometimes when I comment that I can’t wait to see what our little community will be like in 5 years, Ray reminds me that we should look forward 200 years or 500 years. What will it look like then? I can’t say for sure but I certainly feel as though a bit of magic was bestowed upon us as we have come to know and love our new home in Building 53 (the old laundry building).
I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank our amazing team of friends (Holly, Robert, Gary, the Cheadle’s, Phil, Gerard and many others) for all they’ve done for us. From collecting color swatches to snapping photos to offering a meal and a beer after a long day of work, our friends sustain us and we’ll be forever grateful! Emily (roaster, Jen (production), Karen (head barista/bike delivery), Alita (head barista/events & special projects), Keith (sales/promotion), Mary Lee (sales/mom) and Mary Lou (office manager/chef/mom) - hold on to your hats. You are the best crew a little business could have and I can’t wait to see Higher Grounds TC flourish with your keen intellect and compassion leading the way!
Check out the photos above - these were taken in Mid-May by our good friend and travel buddy, Gary Howe. The construction team, led by the talented and humble Christian Buda, are hard at work framing the walls and bringing the plumbing and electrical infrastructure back to life. Watching the MAM construction crew reminds me of the coffee farmers in the field, they work long days, carefully massaging this old building until she bears fruit. And what a sweet fruit it will be - the most delectable coffee around. We look forward to seeing you in July!
And keep your eye out for Higher Grounds TC new bike delivery service ! Give Karen a honk and wave if you see her peddling around town. Sorry guys, Karen is spoken for.
Ya’ll,Many of you have been asking where to find our coffee in the Greater Detroit Area. Well, within the next week you’ll find a couple varieties on the shelves of Holiday Market. Here’s the story . . . they’ve recently renovated and expanded, which we learned from a kind customer tip, but had their coffee selections completed and weren’t accepting any other coffee lines. Mary Lee, our sales super woman (and my mother-in-law), convinced them to find the shelf space to give our coffees a test run. Here’s where you come in. Stop by and purchase a bag! Better yet, call the manager and thank them for adding a 100% fair trade, organic, roasted-to-order-in-Michigan coffee to their line-up. Consumer democracy in action! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Jody
1203 S. Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
3 blocks North of 10 Mile Rd.
(Exit 16 off I-696)248 541 1414
Oaxaca City has had a rough year. It all began in May of 2006 when thousands of teachers staged an annual sit - in on the city’s center to protest low wages and inadequate conditions in the schools of the state. The demands were not unfounded. According to Oaxaca based EDUCA, axaca is the 2nd poorest state in Mexico (after Chiapas) with 76% of the population living in extreme poverty and only 2.9% of the state’s annual budget going to social programs in the country side.
After police violently attacked teachers on the 14th of June the townspeople, coffee farmers, activists, and campesinos came out in throngs to support the teachers from Section 22 of the CNTE teacher’s union. Barricades were set up to protect the teachers, roaming para- military police assasinated many and brutally attacked the struggling community as the democratic movement which became know as APPO - (Popular Assembly of the People’s of Oaxaca) - resisted and demanded the resignation of the state’s mayor Ulises Ruiz. Death threats, drive - by shootings, the continued closure of 14,000 schools and popular resistance became an everday reality as 50 blocks of downtown came screaching to an ungovernable standstill.
Months after the brutal police repression that left 23 dead, a slow creaping presence of undercover police vigilance and harrasment remains in Oaxaca City. Most recently, April 14th saw 24 year old student activist David Venegas detained and beaten as police drove him for hours through the streets of this tourist city. Though he was snatched off the streets in midday while meeting with a school collegue, his family did not know he was “officially� in police custody until nearly 10 pm the same night. Eventhough family and friends pleaded for information of his detainment throughout the day. This week saw us meeting with the family and friends of David to learn about his incarcelation and police sure took notice!
As his family and friends (names withheld for security) told the story, undercover police piered in to the small cafe in downtown Oaxaca City where we had taken refuge. We were not suprised by the vigilance of the police as many in the city were afraid to meet with us fearing arrest or disappearance. Earlier in the day undercover police, with radio in hand, took pictures of our groups as we waited outside to meet a friend. We had done nothing but simply listen to the testimony of his family and friends.
Family and friends painted a picture of David as a former student turned activist, working with the disenfranchised youth of the city while advocating justice for the crimes committed against members of APPO by police and paramilitary. They stated that his charges are ludicrous and unfounded. David was “officially� charged with possesion of cocaine, although his friends told us he did not use drugs, deal drugs, or have any drugs found in his system. They state that the official photo released to newspapers show a beaten David with a large bag of cocaine held by someone behind him as he refused to touch the bag. In fact, they insisted, the first bag of cocaine they put in front of him was too big to even fit in the backpack he was carrying! Later, after the attempt by police to paint him as a street kid on drugs failed, they charged him with burning down a building that he was no where near and as such were no witnesses to place him within miles of the location.
Family asks you to join Amnesty International and may others in the international campaign to free David Venegas: signatures of support and proposals of help and assistance can be sent directly to vocal@riseup.net
For more information on what is happening in Oaxaca, check www.oaxacalibre.org for more information and resources on David’s case.
terday I had a great visit with Yeni Navan/ Michiza (meaning eternal sunrise in the Zapotec Language) in Oaxaca City to discuss purchasing coffee and learn more about their organization. After years of exploitation caused by discrimination of the indigenous populations and evils of the conventional coffee market, the organization was formed to support small-scale producers by finding direct fair trade markets with buyers around the world. Nearly 20 years later they have done just that. Comprised of 932 Indigenous peoples from 42 communities of Mixtecos, Mixes, Chinantecos, Chatinos, Cuicatecos, and Zapotecos decent, they now export nearly 14 containers of coffee to the United States, Australia, and Germany. This will be the first year they are exporting to the U.S. via our importing cooperative, Cooperative Coffees. With the majority of the coffee trees of the typica variety, the growers have been able to consistently produce an extremely well- balanced cup year after year and have created a unique 3 payment system for producers. Each producer is partially paid for his coffee at the beginning of each season - before he even picks the beans. The second payment comes when he delivers the coffee to the cooperative and the third when the cooperative receives final payment from the buyer. This system ensures the producer income throughout the harvest season as opposed to the conventional market which gives a low one-time payment after the harvest.
Michiza has also used its fair trade premiums to provide much needed supplies for the children of growers so they can afford to attend school. The importance of finding alternatives to the conventional market through fair trade was punctuated by Francisco Cruz Sanchez, Secretary of the Board of Directors who stated, ¨The government and its neoliberal economic system has done nothing for us so we must find our öwn path to developing our indigenous communities.¨
Odds are you’ve never heard of San Salvador Atenco. Yet, one year later - the survivors of the police attack on flower vendors and neighboring town of Atenco still await justice for the crimes committed against them. In our ever neoliberalized world, small scale growers and businesses continue to be pushed aside to make way for foreign owned big box transnationals. As was the case in Texcoco a year ago on May 3rd when the police violently attempted to remove flower vendors from the street. The growers and neighboring community of Atenco resisted - demanding that they had a right to sell flowers in their town as they had done for years.The consequences were horrendous. Francisco Javier Cortes Santiago, an unarmed 14 year old boy, was shot in the chest and killed by a police officer. Alexis Benhumea, lay in a coma for hours after being hit by a tear gas canister. The police would not allow an ambulance to reach him and he later died of his wounds. According to the Jesuit Human Rights Center, Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez, 47 women were sexually assaulted by police and dozens tortured. Photographers from major publications were beaten by police for attempting to cover the events. Hundreds of protesters were imprisoned with many still in jail as political prisoners. Yet, no police officer has been relieved from duty or formally charged with a crime!
The 3rd and 4th of May I took to the streets of Mexico City as part of our fair trade tour to participate in the march in support of the political prisoners from San Salvador Atenco and to demand the release of the nearly 400 political prisoners jailed since the start of the Fox administration in 2000. Ok, maybe I didn’t pound the pavement per se as it is illegal under the Mexican Constitution for any foreigner to particpate in demonstrations. Instead I acted as “photographer� and walked side by side with the macheteros, punks, zapatistas, and campesinos, swerving in and out of the hundreds of police that protected the large transnational businesses and conglomerate news publications that litter the main thoroughfare of Mexico City.
Carefully, as I kept my eyes on police photographers that documented the actions of all participants, I witnessed a true struggle for democracy. Thousands convened at the statue of Angel de la Independencia, stopping traffic while marching through the city. Flowers in hand the vendors marched side by side with the machete wielding community of Atenco as they made their way through the city.
While the community and supporters manifested their demands and a caravan from the Other Campaign arrived at the Santiaguita Prison to push for the release of those arrested a year ago, the Calderon administration spit a big luggy in the face of justice - firmly placing the candles on the birthday cake commemorating the one year anniversary of state oppression. Friday, exactly one year after the events in San Salvador Atenco, the Mexican authorities sentenced Ignacio del Valle, Felipe �lvarez and Héctor Galindo, leaders of The United People´s Front to Defend the Land (FPDT), each to 67 years in prison. Even though they were not present when members of their group held state officials captive for half a day before releasing them unharmed to the Red Cross, the Mexican government charged them with kidnapping and made them an example of what happens if you question the authority of the government when working toward community self - determination and social change….
It’s been the season of conferences - Co-op American Green Business Conference, Green Festival and the Specialty Coffee Association of America! All that networking, most of which occurs over beers in the late evening, can really wear a girl out. Thank goodness we’re in the coffee business.
So, it all began with the Co-op American Green Business Networking Conference held and the lovely historic Chicago Cultural Museum. I knew I’d have a good time with my pals from Food For Thought, Timothy Young and Evan Smith , and the newest initiate to our Northern MI club, Mimi Wheeler of Grocer’s Daughter. However, I forgot about Evan’s honing device that never fails to attract all the “bad� boys and girls at every conference. Yep, we were the ones in the back of the hall cracking jokes and laughing loudly while some famous Green Business Entreprenuer spilled his or her guts to us. Over the loudly jokes (mostly Evan’s side of the table), I heard some amazing accounts of different business owners, policy makers from Chicago and more. The City of Chicago deserves a huge pat on the back for their work to make Chicago one of the leading green cities in the world. Throughout Chicago you’ll find bike racks and green roofs and legislations promoting green energy.
But on with the conferencing, our motley crew (Tim, Evan, Mimi and I) met some fellow conference compadres in the beer line (where else?) on the very first night and I must admit, we comprised quite the benevolent bunch. Represented were folks from the green diaper movement started in Australia but transplanted to the United States (this should be a movement if it’s not already); a smarty web marketer from California whose family also owns the famous artstore in San Fran, Flax; a spunky woman who owns a green cleaning services in Cleveland; an Utne of the Utne Magazine lineage; and a sweet woman who has a mission to rid the world of single use plastic bags! One of the most inspiring stories throughout the conference came from Ray Anderson of Interface (http://www.interfaceinc.com). His story is one for all of us that believe the “system� as we know it will never change. Visit Interface’s website to read how Ray Anderson, a man who epitomized Southern conservative capitalist values, made an about face in the eighties.
Quick note on the Green Festival - its was a huge success! 30,000 + attendees brave enough to behemoth structure known as the McCormick Center, beautiful weather, great presentations . . . if would could have only harnessed all the good, raw energy from the crowd, Chicago would be electrified for years to come. A quick shot our to our good friends and importing partners from Peace Coffee (Andy, Mel and Mega) and Just Coffee (Matt), it’s always a pleasure to hang out with you guys and thanks for the good company! We will take over the coffee industry, together!
I couldn’t help myself! I pitted the wealthy and elite against the cafe de los trabajadores. The over marketed and trendy vs. the humble and everyday cup.
I journeyed out into the wilds of Mexico City to investigate the coffee scene. My criteria was simple. The cup must have a pleasant and welcoming flavor while the conditions it was produced were sustainable for the grower and most- supportive of the local economy.
When outside the United States, the easiest way to locate the nearest Starbucks is to 1) trace back the steps of anyone in a suit and tie with a coffee cup or 2) find the fanciest hotel in the area where there is more than not - bound to be a Starbucks. So, I did both and found your typical Starbuck’s Cafe outside the Embassy Suite’s hotel on La Reforma. Sitting in the shadow of a monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, the cafe (one of 70 in Mexico City) greets its customers with a sign on the door that says, “We respect society and the culture of all people.�
Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true when translated to their coffee offerings. There was no fair trade coffee and they did not serve any Mexican coffee (remember, I am in one of the largest coffee growing countries in the world!)- Of 16 bagged coffees offered only two were Mexican with the vast majority coming all the way from Indonesia. I forked over 19 pesos, more then most Mexican coffee growers earn for a days work, for a Gold Coast Blend. It was bland and nondescript, lacking any character or nuances typical of a great cup.
Tossing it in the trash, I ventured out on the street for a cafe de ola. A traditional coffee made by boiling Mexican coffee with cinnamon. Top it off with milk and you have a wonderful treat full of rich chocolate overtones accentuated with a lasting cinnamon finish. The digs were locally owned and the cup was only 6 pesos, 1/3 the price making it affordable to more Mexicanos and produced by local coffee growers. The coffee of the working people far out-shined its rich and powerful, yet bland competitor across the street! Sipping it as I took in its rich aroma reinforced the notion that true support for the specialty coffee farmer means looking beyond the fanciful and glitz of the latest trends and putting some thought into our cup.
It is the only way we can assure ourself a truly remarkable jolt each morning.
While Mary Lou, Jen and Emily hold down the fort at the roastery, Jody and I split up to tackle coffee throughout North America. Jody is heading to the belly of the industrious coffee beast while I head off to treck through the coffee fields on the front lines of democratic change in Mexico. Jody will be at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) annual meeting to take on the year’s most controversial issues - deepening our relationships with growers while reenforcing our positions in the Ethiopia Trademark Debate, fight to save true and fair organic standards, and pushing to make trade more fair.
Meanwhile, I’ll be traveling through Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Chiapas to meet a new coffee co-op and spend time cupping coffee and talking exportation with Mut Vitz, Maya Vinic, and Yachil. Along the way, the Struggles for Democracy Class from the University of Michigan will be joining me as part of a fair trade tour while we head deep into the most revolutionary movments for democracy in Mexico. Check back for regular updates about the finest coffee Mexico has to offer and stories of the organizations that make up the Other Campaign.
Jody will be checking in as well to offer insight about the latest happenings in the coffee industry.
