The Direct Trade talk continues. Sustainable Social Practices are another requirement of Direct Trade. But what does that mean? Well here goes...
This can be distilled to a single essence—is everyone involved in the production of coffee on a Direct Trade farm benefiting? Again, every farm is different. The roaster works with small growers who may farm 2 hectares of coffee and do all the work themselves. The roaster also will work with farms that might employ 300 people during the year. What matters most is that there are good living conditions and the opportunity for measurable economic growth. The roaster avoids trying to determine for the farmer what this really means and prefers to let them tell how things are working. But there are some tangibles to look at. On an medium-sized or single farm the roaster must know what the pickers are being paid, how that wage compares to both the legislated minimums and the average in the region, and whether the workers feel it is a good deal. Are there health services provided? Are there other community services such as education that are financed by earnings from the sale of coffee? On a small farm, the key question is whether or not the farmer is making a living from coffee and earning enough to invest in the health and education of the family. Is there economic progress? There is a big difference between subsistence and development.
That is the jist of it. It is just another step in leveling the playing field in the global economy. Hopefully this will happen more and more in all industries where the 1st world buys from the 3rd world.
This is an exciting direction for Everyday Joe's. One that will help us be better stewards of the gifts we have, both as a coffee shop and as a culture.
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4 comments:
For each pound of roasted coffee, what is the revenue for the farmer, the roaster, and the retailer? What is each participant's piece (percentage) of the total pie?
It's the roaster and the retailer who profit the most, regardless of marketing spin.
Thanks for the comment anonymous. It is not marketing spin, it is just fact. And what you said about the roaster and the retailer profiting most is true in all of agriculture all around the world.
Take corn here in the US for example. Today it is selling for $3.62 a bushel. A bushel of corn is 56 pounds. Got that? A farmer gets $3.62 for 56 pounds of corn. Take a trip to the freezer section of your choice and see how much a one pound bag of frozen corn cost. Multiply that by 56 and see the difference from $3.62.
Direct Trade is not about profit, it is about making sure the farmer gets treated fairly. Some major coffee retailers will pay in the range of $.50 for a pound of coffee. Direct Trade practices brings it up to about $2.00 a pound. Those are just rough estimates, it changes from crop, to farm, to region of the planet.
And anonymous if you have traveled outside of the US to a 3rd world country you know how much $2 USD can get you. In costa rica for example one can live on about $3 USD a day.
But if you are really interested in a grower's profit, support your local farmers market. That cuts out all the middle men.
Correction, that should be $23 USD for the cost of living in Costa Rica, not $3.
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