United by Coffee

Saturday is World Fair Trade Day and Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) has several ways to celebrate.

As a barista at Starbucks and new volunteer at TTV, it seems like fate that we’ll close the day out with Handmade Expressions to co-host a free outdoor movie showing at Jo’s Coffee about…fair trade coffee!

Delicious Peace is a movie about Jewish, Christian and Muslim coffee farmers who decided “social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice is not enough…what’s needed is peace.” It serves as a model of not just successful organic and kosher fair trade coffee distributors helping the economically disadvantaged, but also interfaith cooperation.

I have not seen the movie, as I’m going to see it at Jo’s on Saturday, but as someone new to the fair trade world, I’m intrigued by the premise of the movie and fair trade coffee.

So what makes coffee “fair trade?” Fair Trade USA takes some of the guesswork out by serving as an intermediary that reviews and certifies products like coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and more to make sure they meet fair trade standards that are established FTUSA. Basically, those standards are the same ones that make jewelry and novelty items fair trade: 1) farmers are compensated for their labor and products so they can maintain a reasonable standard of living; 2) they have safe working environments; and 3) they sell their products directly. This allows for transparency and empowers the communities to set their own prices and build up business skills.

Another cornerstone in fair trade is that the focus is on building up the community through projects designed to bolster education, health care, and basic social needs. Since FTUSA deals with mainly agricultural products, there is the added standard of “environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations,” although environmentally friendly practices are common in other areas of the fair trade world beyond food.

The movie description makes sure to mention the coffee is kosher, so on a related note (and in the interfaith spirit of the movie), what makes coffee kosher? I mean, isn’t all coffee basically kosher? Generally, yes. This website from an organization that investigates and certifies kosher products is an excellent resource for not only explaining kosher as it applies to coffee, but also explaining how coffee is grown and processed.

Kosher concerns only really come into play with flavored coffee and the process of decaffeinating the coffee beans, as the chemical compound ethanol used to decaffeinate the beans is originally from a grain and therefore not kosher. Those are the main issues inherent to the coffee, but there is also the issue of the establishment selling the coffee.

“This problem stems from the halacha of marris ayin, the appearance of wrongdoing,” Star-K says. “This din states that a Jew is prohibited from doing things that others might interpret as violations of halacha.”

This is where things get tricky and it becomes a judgment call, but Star-K’s rabbis apply the standard that if the business is primarily concerned with non-kosher items, then it’s not kosher to get coffee there. If the business deals in just coffee or a mixture of kosher and non-kosher items, then it’s kosher to get coffee there.

Be sure to stop by Ten Thousand Villages on World Fair Trade Day to try some Fair Trade Certified coffee. It’s a dark, full-bodied French roast. Try it with a little bit of cream to bring out the smokiness in the flavor.

Photo Entry from 2013 Fair Trade Challenge:

Becca Ruiz poses with the fair trade
coffee section at Ten Thousand Villages

Also, don’t forget to show off your fair trade items in our World Fair Trade Day social media challenge for a chance to win a $50 gift card to the store!

- Kathryn
(Find me on twitter)

Being The Change We Want To See

Longtime Ten Thousand Villages volunteer and current board member Taylor Overstreet wrote this article for MISSION DRIVEN, the blog for Greenlights for NonProfit Success.  Taylor shared her excitement (and OURS) for the Austin Fair Trade Film Festival and detailed the process of planning such an event.

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Posted on May 7, 2010 by Taylor Overstreet

Disclaimer: I’m a longtime volunteer and current board member at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, so please forgive me in advance for swelling with pride during this post!

For nonprofit fair trade organization Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, the big idea was a film festival to raise awareness about fair trade.  A few months ago, board member and volunteer Sharon Matheny had the idea to hold the first annual fair trade film festival in Austin, in conjunction with World Fair Trade Day, held on the second Saturday in May each year.  Ten Thousand Villages of Austin has celebrated for the past several years, but this year, we decided to go big.

But first, we needed to answer three big questions – what, who and how?

1. What do we want to accomplish? Awareness? Fundraising? Recruiting? For this event, awareness was our primary goal. World Fair Trade Day has connected us year after year to people and celebrations all over the world. It’s a special opportunity to celebrate with our local community and to build awareness about fair trade products and the artisans behind them. There are still lots of folks who don’t know about fair trade, so it was important for us to educate in an informal way that is fun for everyone. Film seemed like a natural conduit because of the vibrant film community that already exists in Austin. We decided to include a panel discussion following each film to create a true dialogue as part of raising awareness.

2. Who should be involved? We love our local partners, and the idea of a film festival in Austin just didn’t make sense at any other place than the Alamo Drafthouse. Our timing coincided perfectly with the campaign to secure the Fair Trade Towndesignation for Austin, and that group has played a tremendous role. We turned to our existing partnerships and made new relationships in the process to secure sponsorships from Texas Coffee Traders, Handmade Expressions, The Progressive Populist, Transfair USA, Novica, Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Eastside Cafe, Dominican Joe, Nada Moo, Maine Root Handcrafted Beverages, Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera,Austin Local & Fair Trade, Ethical City, Marigold-Gateway to India, Fair Trade a Day, and Etnik Fashions. Finally, nothing happens without our volunteers. They have been instrumental leading up to the big day and will be a big part of our success.

3. How do we get there? While the film festival is not a fundraiser, we needed funds to make it happen. We set up a KickStarter fundraising page and set a modest fundraising goal that basically covered our costs. We asked a local designer to donate his time designing a logo for our festival t-shirts, and our fabulous volunteer crew galvanized into action to spread the word via Facebook, e-mail, and good old-fashioned word of mouth.

In an effort to build more connections with the nonprofit community, Ten Thousand Villages of Austin recently became a member of Greenlights. Big ideas aren’t so daunting when you have the support that this community provides. It’s our first time trying this experiment, but that’s what big ideas are all about. How big? The festival, the first of its kind, includes three documentary films, panel discussions, a Fair Trade Market, artisan demonstrations, and (because it’s Austin) live music.

What’s your big idea?

VSA Arts of Texas Benefit Night – Thursday, July 24

You can help make the arts accessible to all!  Join us at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin this Thursday, July 24, from 5-9pm, for a night benefitting VSA Arts of Texas, a local nonprofit organization that promotes the creative power in people with disabilities by facilitating full access to the cultural and educational arts.

A portion of all proceeds from purchases made between 5-9pm this Thursday will go directly to VSA Arts of Texas.  You’ll be supporting both fair trade and a great, local, nonprofit organization right here in Austin.  We hope to see you in the store!  For more information, please click here.

From the VSA Arts of Texas website:
Disability affects 1 out of 5 Americans in their lifetime. According to the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, there are approximately 4 million Texans with disability, and according to the Texas Council on Developmental Disabilities, the number of people with disabilities living in Texas is expected to increase by 30% by the year 2010.

Children and adults drive our organization every day. They inspire our programs and services and guide our vision of an inclusive, creative world. We serve approximately 5,000 adults, children, and educators directly, and over 25,000 students, parents, and community members indirectly each year. We offer programs, services, and events based in four expansive core areas: arts education, professional development, cultural access, and public awareness and outreach. We are a leading force in a movement to transform the way we teach, the way we learn about each other, and the way we live.