Poor Farmer

Lutheran World Relief April 25, 2007 Baltimore — To keep pace with growing production costs and the needs of coffee-growing communities, the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) Board has approved an increase in the social premium paid for Fair Trade coffee. Beginning June 1, 2007, farmer cooperatives will receive at least $1.31 per pound for their coffee, and $1.51 if it is organically certified. Lutheran World Relief affirms this decision as a very positive one for farmers and their communities. A unique feature of Fair Trade, social premiums are money designated for cooperatives to use for community projects that are determined by the farmers. “The farmers have used the social premium received from the sale of Fair Trade coffee to improve their communities in significant ways, such as building schools and health clinics, and providing scholarships for students to attend secondary school,” notes Jean M. Waagbo, deputy regional director for Latin America. Since 1996, ...

By Helen Carter The Guardian April 25, 2007 The sudden closure of one of the few independent coffee shops in Manchester is an ominous sign. The stark metal shutters outside Suburb in Manchester, are an ominous sign that all is not well with one of the city's last remaining independent coffee shops. A police officer stood nearby, but confusingly, he was just keeping an eye on visiting football fans. Suburb was a rarity in the city's central shopping district - an independent coffee shop amid the plethora of big multinational companies, restaurants and shops that make Manchester as bland as any other large town or city in the UK. It shouldn't really come as a surprise that Suburb is closed - it has faced fierce competition from the big companies that have been buying land and opening coffee shops at a swift pace - there are at least four Starbucks within a five-minute walk and two Caffe Neros . But its closure has been sudden, unwelcome and unexpected, just three years afte...