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INTO THE HILL COUNTRY OF CENTRAL AMERICA
Northern Michigan University students Sarah Swanson and Lisa McCarthy stand near the mouth of Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. Members of Lutheran Campus Ministry, the students were with a group of Americans participating in a Lutheran World Relief study project. (Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua. Three videos of the student's presentation about their Nicaragua trip were produced by Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University and the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI.
------- Video #1 Role of faith communities, Nicaragua coffee farmers, and coffee cooperatives in Fair Trade movement; Northern Michigan University students talk about work that goes into growing coffee including wet mills, dry mills and the process of quality/taste testing called “cupping.” Video #2 The Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education. A look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community (not just coffee farming families). The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met. Video #3 The students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers. -------
(Photos at St. Mark's Lutheran Church by Greg Peterson)
Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production. From staring into the mouth of the Masaya Volcano to traveling narrow mountain roads to stay with coffee-farming families to picking beans and participating in all phases of coffee production, the trip was a myth-shattering experience.
The students are the latest of hundreds of faith community representatives traveling to Central American over the last decade with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to get a quick course on Fair Trade while erasing misconceptions about Nicaragua's hard-working low-income farmers who take pride in their coffee. Known for loving a strong cup of hot coffee, U.P. residents are the perfect audience for the two students who were impressed by the work ethic and friendliness of Nicaraguans. The Fair Trade movement was born during the "coffee crisis of 1990s" when prices "really imploded - it was terrible," said Swanson, 20, an NMU junior majoring in speech language and hearing sciences. The fluctuating market price for Nicaraguan coffee in early January 2009 was $1.13 per pound, said Swanson, who is a native of Rapid River, MI. Both students are members of NMU Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) and their trips were funded by U.P. parishes and donors.
The students met with other groups involved in the Fair Trade effort including Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education. "Equal Exchange was the first Fair Trade distributor of coffee in the United States," said McCarthy, 19, an NMU sophomore majoring in photography. Citing the Underground Railroad run by churches during the American Civil War and sanctuary for refugees during the war in El Salvador, Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette said the Fair Trade movement was started by "churches to create an alternative economy to the one that was oppressing small farmers. "It's a part of the church's work, part of the faith community's mission and a part people don't know about,' said Magnuson, who is the NMU LCM campus pastor. "Sarah and Lisa are going to be encouraging churches to sell Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in their basements," said Rev. Magnuson.
Some U.P. Lutheran churches have been on board for years. "Fair Trade Coffee sold at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette is sold at cost," said Messiah member John Carlson of Marquette. "This is a ministry for helping this program of Fair Trade." "During the coffee crisis they had to bring it (the coffee) through Canada," said McCarthy, a native of Greenville, WI. "They had to go through all these measures to get it (the coffee) here." The students said Nicaraguan coffee producers seek respect for their heritage, and want foreigners to understand what goes into growing that coffee they love each morning. Nicaraguans hope emissaries like the NMU students will spread the word about Fair Trade far and wide thus getting people to only buy coffee originating from democratically-run cooperatives that represent the farmers.
Lead by his children, a Nicaraguan coffee farmer carries a heavy sack of beans on his shoulders. They are on the way to his local democratically-run cooperative. (Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) "One thing we can do is respect them," said McCarthy during a recent presentation at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marquette that was attended by residents from 18 to 80 years old and as far away as Rapid River. "It was really great to go on this trip because it's hard to respect a faceless thing. "You buy the coffee and respect Fair Trade but going there and seeing that and knowing the work that goes into one cup of coffee - brings it home," McCarthy said. It's important for Americans to know "the amount of work that goes into everything." LWR "really stresses the accompaniment model that they use with all their programs - They are not just throwing money at them,"Swanson said. LWR works with Nicarguans "to find out what these farmers want and the things that the need" to accomplish their individual dreams. Americans sometimes mistakenly think that Nicaraguans "want all the things that we have," said Swanson. "Most Nicaraguan farmers have never tasted their quality coffee because it's way more beneficial for them to ship it out, than for them to drink even a cup," McCarthy said. "They drink the bad quality stuff." "One of the new projects" for the farmers is "trying to get people in Nicaragua to buy high quality coffee because that's a whole other market they haven't touched."
The students received a history lesson on Nicaragua and assistance from employees of the Center for Global Education in Managua including program coordinator and interpreter Juan Carlos Lopez and study abroad facilitator Joe Connelly. Lopez and Connelly, who host numerous ecotourism study project coffee tours each year, "came with us on our trip and added to our experience by sharing with us what they know from working there," Swanson said.
(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) McCarthy and Swanson were happy to learn that "women in Nicaragua are known as being strong women." Something they learned first hand and was more impressive to the pair than even the current status of women's rights in the U.S. Instead of receiving an expected lecture from men at the co-ops, the students were greeted by a female co-op board secretary, who "spoke to us so passionately and with such great knowledge, that is just blew me away," McCarthy said. "I saw in-person that it's not a factor if you are a man or a women."
(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) "Even though it has been fought for here (in the U.S.) it's still part of our culture that the man is the alpha male," McCarthy said. "Just seeing that and seeing her was one of the more impactful things for me," McCarthy said, adding she was impressed with "how proud they (women) are of the co-op."
A Nicaraguan woman is raking the coffee beans for even drying at SOLCAFE (Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) LWR stresses respect for the Nicaraguan farmers who are not looking for a handout rather a fair wage for their hard work. ‘They envision a world where all people live in justice, dignity and peace," said Swanson, who told the story of a young women repaying a $200 loan used to buy a home. "You could see how this was helping her maintain her dignity because she was paying is back," Swanson. "She wanted to buy her house - they don't want it to be handouts from people.
The students visited the SolCafé dry mill, one of several cooperatives representing Nicaraguan coffee growers; who have an agreement with the Cooperativas Cafetaleras del Norte (CECOCAFEN), an organization that buys Fair Trade coffee and organizes its distribution around the world After arriving in the Nicaraguan capitol of Managua, the group visited the cities of Matagalpa, and Jinotega.
A popular tourist attraction is the Masaya Volcano National Park. (Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)
Riding with 11 other American visitors, the tour included "a very bumpy bus ride up these very scary roads" to a "mountain village of La Reyna" about 3 hours from the capitol, said Swanson, adding they stayed with host families many of which had numerous children. The students were thankful for interpreters because they don't speak Spanish. The students experienced a culture shock underlining the disparity in the wages Americans enjoy versus Latin American countries yet the hospitality was overwhelming. "It was such a change," said Swanson, who plans to attend graduate school for speech pathology leading to career as a speech therapist. "Going into their little tiny houses and they gave up three beds for us - they have eight people living in the house (and) were so hospitable to us," Swanson said. "It's basically two rooms with a main room," Swanson said. "Most of the kitchens were outside with their woodstoves." The goal of a Lutheran World Relief project "is to build 125 simple but decent houses" for the coffee farmers or their families, McCarthy said. ‘They already had 50 built." McCarthy is impressed with the realistic dreams that's sparked hands-on community action by the co-ops, farmers and other residents are working together to improve their lives.
The Children of Nicaragua: Like kids around the world, the students did not need an interpreter to communicate with the children of Nicaragua. Smiling and eager to play games, the Nicaraguan children played with their American houseguests. Child labor is prohibited under Fair Trade principals however some children are allowed to work at their family coffee farm at certain times of the year. Many children follow in their parents footsteps and become coffee growers. (Photos by Lisa McCarthy)
"The community is just so involved in the schooling for the children, brand new housing and every aspect of surviving," said McCarthy. Basic principals of Fair Trade coffee include a guaranteed minimum price for farmers, some profits used help all residents and their children, beans must be purchased from a democratically-run cooperative of small farmers, farmers receive credit up front because "it can be lengthy time" between planting and sale, safe environmental standards are met during the entire process, no child labor and following strict safe environmental standards Fair Trade is needed to ensure a minimum price paid to the farmers for their beans "no matter what the market price is" because often times the market price of the coffee "will drop below a price where the farmers are making money," said Swanson. A lot of the time "farmers are actually losing money on their crops."
Sarah Swanson picks a coffee bean. The beans are surrounded by a "cherry." (Nicaragua photos by Lisa McCarthy) "It's hard for farmers to hold onto their coffee and wait for a better price" because their crops "can go bad," Swanson said. "It's better security for the farmers." The minimum price includes a premium "that goes into social programming for the farmers and the (coffee) cooperatives," Swanson said. "The cooperatives disperse the social premium to the community." "Even people who are part of the community (but) are not part of the cooperative benefit" from the social premium, Swanson said. For example, "They help get kids school supplies."
The coffee beans "must be bought from a democratically-run organization of small farmers," she said. "Credit is offered to the farmers ahead of time before they actually deliver their coffee because there is a lot of expense that goes into this process," Swanson said. "The farmers won't see their profits for quite a while - until it gets exported and sold. That can be quite a while." "With Fair Trade the buyers are giving 60 percent of the price of the coffee to the farmers up front to help them with all their costs," Swanson said.
Another Fair Trade principal "is that environmental standards are met in the production of the coffee (during) the whole process," Swanson said. "The 12 most harmful chemicals are banned and not used in the process at all." "Labor standards are also met for the worker who are involved in the whole process," Swanson said. "Children can work there if they are with their family, as long as it doesn't interfere with their schooling." The students saw "whole families" working in coffee farming jobs because "school wasn't in session and they don't start (school) again until February," said McCarthy, adding the two-month main harvesting season ends in the next few weeks. Some of the Nicaraguan youth "go off to college and different things but the majority of them want to stay and help" their families harvest coffee, Swanson said. The students said organic coffee farmers have a deep abiding respect for the Earth and the health of humans.
As members of the NMU EarthKeeper Student Team, the students were touched by the story of farmer Martin Vincente Padilla, a father of four who grows organic coffee and avocadoes in Matagalpa. "Farmers come to him to get training on how to farm organic grain," McCarthy said. "He said being an organic farmer isn't just something you do, you have to change you ideas and thoughts about farming," McCarthy said. "To be an organic farmer, you can't just go through the process." "He was just so proud of everything he had and how his family has struggled for their land because there are big huge coffee companies directly next to him - surrounding him and his land." "He had to fight for seven years in court to keep his land and take back what they had taken from him," McCarthy said. The neighboring farms are not organic "so he put up barriers like rows of coffee to absorb all the chemicals so they don't get to his." "It was so amazing, he had an area for livestock, an area of growing fruit trees," McCarthy said.
"Everything was self-sustaining on the land, they don't have to go out to get anything, any food, anything, He grows everything there. He makes his own organic fertilizer from the remains of the coffee cherries. It was just amazing to see." The NMU students "visited 5 farms and the dry mills and the wet mills," McCarthy said.
"They had this basket (pictured above) and put it around their waste with a strap," McCarthy said, while gesturing a circle around her waste. "And they just pick and (the coffee cherries) just fall in."
"They start from the bottom and work up on the coffee plant and move down the row," McCarthy said. "Some of the plants get really tall and you have to bend them over and pick them (the coffee cherries) off," said McCarthy while using her hands to simulate how the coffee pickers reach for the top of the plant and bend it toward their basket.
"They are pretty tall plants, probably about six to seven feet tall," Swanson said. Saying "we got to pick the coffee cherries," McCarthy admitted their coffee harvesting abilities were modest at best, adding even the Nicaraguan children were "10 times better" at picking beans. "At the first (coffee) co-op we went to we picked for an hour and got 30 pounds," McCarthy said. "There were 14 of us and the average coffee picker there can pick 100 pounds in a hour." "There are little stems that you are not supposed to pull off the plant because it stunts the next year's growth." "We were pretty good at that" said Swanson of the stems, causing the audience to laugh because it underlined the extra time it took for the American students to pick the coffee cherries.
"This is up in the mountains and then they carry the one hundred pound bags back down on their shoulders (pictured above) like this all day," McCarthy said. "Some of the people had horses that they would bring from home and they would rig up little wooden holders on there (for the coffee bean sacks) but most of the people would carry them down right on the back of their neck," Swanson said.
The "wet milling process takes the cherry off of the coffee bean," McCarthy said. "They ferment it for 16 hours in a huge vat and it goes through this whole system where it peals off the cherry part."
Nicaragua Wet Mill photos by Lisa McCarthy Coffee beans are surrounded by a sweet tasty cherry that the students enjoyed, Swanson said. The depulping process creates "honey water" that "pollutes things if you let it all go in one spot," Swanson said. "So they have to spray it or disperse it using buckets so they are not killing all the plant life."
"They kept the remains of the cherries in a big pile and let them ferment," McCarthy said. "Then farmers will use it as fertilizer for coffee plants." McCarthy said "after the cherries have been removed" the coffee beans "sit out in the sun, depending on how sunny it is, for five to eight hours."
"That's just to get a lot of the wetness off it" because the beans had been in vats of water, McCarthy said. "There could be rotting if there is too much water." "When they send it to the dry mill they can not have it too wet because in the transferring from their farms to the dry mill - which could take half a day to get there - there could be rotting."
The farmers do "some quality control" before shipping the coffee beans including "they pick out cherry remains that remain on the beans" and "any beans that are effected by bugs and boring insects," McCarthy said.
"Most of the farms had or were getting a wet mill so that more of the processing could be done there. And it would be cheaper to send just to the dry mill - than to a wet mill and then to a dry mill and shipping," McCarthy said. "So they let it sit out in the sun." "Farmers from all over this area" drop off their beans at the mills, McCarthy said. "They are all small farmers so its not like huge semis full of coffee it just basically the backs of pickup trucks." "They unload it (coffee beans) and label it in fields" said McCarthy, adding the coffee is taste tested to help farmers grow better coffee in the future. "They do quality control" and "give feedback later (to farmers) on how their coffee tastes and what they can do to make it better," McCarthy said.
While machines test the loads of dried coffee into a warehouse, some of the beans are examined by field supervisors who "take the parchment layer of the coffee bean off with his hands to test it to see how moist it is under that." With five women on each side of conveyor belts in warehouses "the coffee beans are sorted by color" and "the bad beans are removed," McCarthy said. The women must work fast and intensely to keep up with the large flow of beans, McCarthy said.
"In the same warehouse where they were taking the parchment off with machinery, they also have a roasting machine," Swanson said. The "medium-roasted" ground coffee is tested for aroma at "cupping labs" where the coffee is taste tested. There are intense competitions to rate "cuppers" because "it's actually a very prestigious position," said McCarthy, adding they met the "second best cupper" in Nicaragua.
Swanson showed the audience an intricate chart that the cuppers use to grade coffee. "First they grind the coffee beans to test for aroma, and then they add hot water and test for aroma again," McCarthy said. "There is a whole point system for aroma, flavor, body, acidity and then the whole balance." "They slurp the coffee on a spoon and spit it out," McCarthy said. "For the cupping they always roast it at medium roast" because a darker roast sometimes "covers up the imperfections."
The flavor, quality and differences of coffee such as "shade grown" can be affected by a wide variety of regional soil conditions, water, elevation and even the type of fruit plants it's grown next to like banana trees, McCarthy said. To ensure the coffee beans "are evenly dried" Nicaraguan "women rake the fields all day in the hot sun" at drying mills," McCarthy said. "The women wear bandanas and hats because it is so incredibly warm."
During the Fair Trade talk in Marquette, the audience laughed when both students admitted they are not regular coffee drinkers - to say the least. "We tried it," Swanson said. McCarthy said "I don't drink caffeine (but) I drank coffee all week." She explained that in a cupping room there were different qualities of coffee to sample with a rating of "zero to 100 - and anything above a 90 (rating) is rare to find." "We cupped stuff between 80 and 86, so they did not give us any 40s just to throw us off," said McCarthy, laughing with the audience. The Nicaraguan trip and its lessons had a bigger impact on the students than they could ever get reading books or attending class. The experience has turned both into eloquent spokespersons for the Fair Trade movement.
To that end, the pair will be giving presentations to groups across northern Michigan in upcoming months to explain the hardships endured by Nicaraguan farmers thus convincing Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee even if it costs a few pennies more than a bargain brand grown by farmers who don't enjoy labor, economic and environmental protections. A Lutheran pastor, Magnuson said most Upper Peninsula churches "are pretty good with an outreach of compassion - but weak at works of justice - we've got a ways to go." "There's a wonderful Jewish saying that the universe is held up - that God holds up the universe with two pillars - one is compassion , we all know that, but the other one is justice.
Just about everywhere the group traveled, they saw tributes to Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto César Sandino. (Photos by Lisa McCarthy)
In recent years over 150 U.P. churches and temples have been active in environmental justice through the Earth Keeper Initiative, and Fair Trade efforts by are among the latest efforts by their congregations to promote human rights in foreign countries.
Background on Lutheran World Relief: Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves.
LWR's work in Nicaragua focuses on those in the rural areas of Matagalpa and Jinotega, both coffee producing regions. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945. Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility. To learn more about LWR Study Tours, please visit: Lake Superior Interfaith Communications website Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) NGLS Background
Wikipedia on Fair Trade Certification Mark Global Exchange website on Fair Trade Catholic Relief Services on Fair Trade Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives on Fair Trade Wikipedia on World Fair Trade Organization Coal Train Coffee House on Fair Trade
Equal Exchange Fair Trade page
Equal Exchange on the History of Coffee in Nicaragua Equal Exchange story on Procuring Coffee in Nicaragua Equal Exchange on Fair Trade Coffee with conscience SolCafé: SolCafé processing plant Alternativa 3 website on CECOCAFEN Information about Nicaragua coffee cooperatives: Fair Trade.org on coffee coops Catholic Relief Services on coffee coops Equal Exchange on coffee coops Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign on coffee coops Center for Global Education universities Center for Global Education universities in Michigan & NMU
Click here to be updated Fair Trade projects or participate in Lutheran World Relief Action Center Wikipedia on Lutheran World Relief Lutheran World Relief stories on Fair Trade & coffee: Thanks to God and Fair Trade we're not starving Lutherans Pursue Good Coffee, Fairly Fair Trade: A Taste of Justice
Fair Trade vs. Free Trade: Global Policy.org on Free Trade Milwaukee Journal article Dec. 2002 on Free Trade vs. Fair Trade Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto César Sandino: Wikipedia on Sardino Nicaragua Organic Farmer Martin Vincente Padilla: War in El Salvador and Churches including Lutheran World Relief and others: Lutheran churches and El Salvador Lutheran Zephyr story on War in El Salvador Living the Underground Railroad Jewish belief in compassion and justice: Mercy, Loving, kindness, and Peace: A Jewish Affirmation of Respect for Life by Janet Podell Jewish Journal on Justice & Mercy Tiscapa Lagoon: Wikipedia on Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve in Managua, Nicaragua NMU LCM related websites and other events/projects: Lake Superior Interfaith story on the Lothlorian Blessing of the Garden Ceremony Current TV on 2008 visit by Imam to NMU LCM Gather article on Garden Blessing for native plants at NMU LCM BlipTV Video of Lutheran youth raising money through environment projects for NMU LCM Current TV page for all NMU video & print stories NMU LCM Fair Trade: ELCA Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) and NMU Lutheran Campus Ministry Pastor Tim Bernard has been on the forefront of the Fair Trade effort in the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS). Increasing numbers of Lutheran parishes across North America are building networks and connections with small farming villages in Central America, establishing distribution of coffee that honors better working conditions and higher wages for the poor in developing countries. |
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