fair trade

By Matt Early
Just Coffee

Recently fellow Just Coffee worker-owner Mike Miller and I had the opportunity to visit the organization La FEM (Fundación Entre Mujeres) in Estelí, Nicaragua. After finding out about the group from WCCN, we were excited to meet them and learn more about their work while exploring the possibility of buying their coffee to roast and sell in Madison.
La FEM is not simply a coffee growing cooperative. Founded in 1996, they organized to work on issues of domestic violence against women, women’s health, education, and job training. Upon meeting them we were immediately impressed with their level of organization and their dedication to women’s rights as a political and social imperative.

This year's Fair Trade Holiday Festival will be at MATC's downtown campus (the same venue as last year) on Saturday, December 2.

The hours are being extending; opening at 9:00 instead of 10:00, so the event will run from 9:00-4:00.

This will be the 10th annual festival organized by Community Action on Latin America, and is more popular every year! As in past years WCCN will be present with pottery from Nicaragua along with many other venders of fair trade goods.

The Fair Trade Holiday Festival was a great success. There were many people there, and we had very little pottery left at the end. Many people came looking for the Nicaraguan pottery that they remembered from previous years. It is great that we are able to order more pottery each year, and support the artisans and cooperatives in Nicaragua that are producing it.

Thank you to everyone who helped out at the fair! I thought it went pretty smoothly!

I just got the second shipment of pottery, 7 big boxes full!

So, in preparation for the Fair Trade Holiday Fair on Saturday (see the events listing), I am opening the boxes and labeling the fair trade pottery from Nicaragua that we recently ordered. We have ordered many many more pieces than last year, since we sold out quickly. I hope that we have alot of people at the fair, since the location has changed this year, we are not sure how many people we will have. It is at the MATC downtown building.

I still have 5 boxes to open, and I am exited to see the pottery inside. Hopefully many people will come to the fair!