2009 Fair Trade, Nicaragua Coffee Farmers #2: Students with Lutheran World Relief in Central America

Two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students - Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI - are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade.
This is the first of several excerpts from their presentation.
In part two, the students explain the Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.
They also take 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.
The NMU students among 13 Americans on Lutheran World Relief Study Tour entitled NICARAGUA: Pour Justice to the Brim from January 5-12, 2009
The group visited the capitol of Managua, and the cities/villages of Matagalpa, Jinotega and La Reyna.
Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects women's rights and human rights plus fights poverty.
Arriving at the peak of the coffee harvest, the students visited many aspects of the industry including dry mills, wet mills and coffee cooperatives.
They spoke on January 13, 2008 to a group at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Marquette, MI.

Related links:

LWR Study Trips
http://www.lwr.org/study

Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) at Northern Michigan University (NMU)
http://www.nmulutherans.org
http://www.nmulutherans.org/newsletter.html#fragment-5
http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
http://www.elca.org
Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS)
http://www.nglsynod.org
http://www.nglsynod.org/about-our-synod.html

LWR Study Tour on January 5-12, 2009 - NICARAGUA: Pour Justice to the Brim:
http://www.lwr.org/study/nica

Fair Trade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fairtrade_Certification_Mark
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade
http://www.crsfairtrade.org/assets/fair-trade-timeline.pdf
http://www.fairtrade.net
http://www.transfairusa.org
http://www.usworker.coop/front
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Fair_Trade_Organization

Equal Exchange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Exchange
http://www.equalexchange.coop/fair-trade
http://www.equalexchange.coop
Videos
http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2007/03/12/make-your-sweet-tooth-an-equal-excha...
http://www.equalexchange.coop/new-video

SolCafé
http://www.vianica.com/activity/122/visit-to-the-solcafe-coffee-processing-plant
http://schweisguth.org/~melissa/nicaragua/solcafe.html

CECOCAFEN
http://www.equalexchange.coop/profile-of-cecocafen-in-nicaragua
http://www.transfairusa.org/pdfs/profiles/Cecocafen-Nica.PDF
http://www.alternativa3.com/2006/productores.php?id=150&idioma=en
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/cecocafen

Nicaragua coffee cooperatives
http://fairtrade.change.org/blog/view/face_of_fair_trade_la_fem_coffee_cooper...
http://crs.org/nicaragua/women-coffee-coop
http://www.equalexchange.coop/worker-owned
http://www.usaid.gov/stories/nicaragua/cs_nc_coffee.html
http://justcoffee.coop/en/geography/nicaragua
http://www.nicaraguasc.org.uk/partners/index.htm

Center for Global Education
http://globaled.us
http://www.globaled.us/wwcu
http://www.globaled.us/wwcu/state.asp?region=Michigan

Fair Trade Principals
http://www.kaldi.com/fair-trade-coffee.htm.

Email LWR Coffee Project & Fair Trade
fairtrade at lwr.org

Update Fair Trade projects/participate in LWR Action Center:
http://action.lwr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SignUp

Lutheran World Relief & Fair Trade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_World_Relief
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/justice.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/lwt.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/elsal.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/elcanr.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/faith.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/cup.asp
http://www.lwr.org/coffee/justice.asp
http://www.equalexchange.coop/LWR-Delegation-to-Nicaragua
http://www.lwr.org/fairtrade/resources.asp

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