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Note #7486 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Equal Exchange in your cup
02419
October 25, 2002

Equal Exchange in your cup

Nicaraguan coffee farmers thank PC(USA) for fair trade deal

By Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - The world coffee market has not been kind to the farmers of
Miraflor in Nicaragua's central highlands.
	Already the second poorest country in the western hemisphere,
Nicaragua and its coffee growers have been particularly hard hit by the
collapse of coffee prices, which have fallen 70 percent in the last five
years.
But in the last three years, a cooperative of small farmers and community
organizers in Miraflor have found an unlikely partner in their struggle for
economic survival - the Presbyterian Church (USA).
	On Oct. 23, two Miraflor leaders visited the Presbyterian Center here
to tell their story and thank the PC(USA) for its participation in the
revitalization of their community through the Presbyterian Coffee Project.
	Launched at last year's General Assembly, the coffee project is part
of the denomination's  for Everyone anti-hunger campaign. In partnership with
Equal Exchange - a 15-year-old fair trade organization - the Presbyterian
Coffee Project encourages congregations and other entities to purchase their
coffee from farmers' cooperatives like Miraflor at a guaranteed price that is
roughly three times the current world market price.
	In 2001 alone, Equal Exchange paid more than $960,000 to small farmer
coops in above-market premiums. Currently, nearly 1,000 Presbyterian
congregations, presbyteries and the Presbyterian Center purchase their coffee
from Equal Exchange.
	"I admire the Presbyterian Church's concern and relationship with
Equal Exchange," said Porfirio Zepeda Arana, general manager of the Miraflor
cooperative. "Our people have better living conditions because they are
getting a better price and they can plan for their future because they know
their coffee is going to be bought."
	Coop members agree to contribute 3 percent of their income to health
and education programs in Miraflor, said Elim Gutierrez Blandon, a member of
a women's group that addresses health and nutrition needs in the community.
	One hundred percent of the "premium" - the difference between the
world market price (which fluctuates between 40 and 60 cents a pound) and the
Equal Exchange guaranteed price of $1.26 - goes to the school in Miraflor.
	While some farmers stay out of the coop because of its financial
demands and organic-growing requirements, 80 percent of Miraflor's farmers
participate in the cooperative. All of the community programs sponsored by
the coop are available to all of Miraflor's citizens, Blandon told the
Presbyterian News Service.
	The coffee income guaranteed by the Equal Exchange partnership has
also enabled Miraflor's farmers to diversify. Combining coffee growing with
the cultivation of avocadoes, bananas and oranges has contributed to soil
enrichment and provided additional income to Miraflor's farmers.
	The Presbyterian Coffee Project has fostered a spiritual as well as
economic tie between the people of Miraflor and Presbyterians in the U.S.,
Arana said. "Our community is very religious so we'd like a stronger
relationship with your church," he said, "particularly youth exchanges and
visits between our women."
	For more information about the Presbyterian Coffee Project and other
efforts of the Enough for Everyone program, contact Melanie Hardison by phone
at 888-728-7228, ext. 5626 or by email at mhardiso@ctr.pcusa.org. For more
information about Equal Exchange, contact Erbin Crowell by phone at
781-830-0303, ext. 228 or by email at ecrowell@equalexchange.com. Information
is also available on the Presbyterian Hunger Program website:
www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/hunger/coffee.

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