Poor Farmer

The first ever Northwest Fair Trade Convergence will be taking place at the University of Washington campus in Seattle on Saturday, April 28, 2007. The day will consist of two blocks of workshops covering an assortment of fair trade-related issues, Black Gold movie screening, a speaker-panel and discussion, and much more. Food and beverages will be provided, there is no registration fee and the day is bound to be a good time with good company. Morning - Registration & free coffee and pastries - Welcome! Workshop Session I - Economics of Fair Trade - Making a Good Cup of Coffee - Fair Trade & Your Food Service Provider - Fair Trade 101 Workshop Session II - Coffee, Conflict and the Environment: the role of coffee certification program and US policy in shaping the future of sustainable coffees. - Trade Justice: What is the F...

Ethiopia: Irish Business Delegation Says Country Visit Successful The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) April 27, 2007 A business delegation from Ireland organized by the Connect Ethiopia group, a new initiative by Irish businesses to create and develop trade and business partnerships between Ireland and Ethiopia, "has had a successful visit" here, one of its Executive Member Philip O'Dwyer said in a statement Thursday. "We have had a series of informative and fruitful meetings with people from different business sectors, including the Chamber of Commerce, the garment industry, the Insurance Federation, Ethiopian Airlines, MIDROC and others," the statement quoted him as saying. Four e-commerce and ICT professionals, part of the delegation, have had meetings with Ethiopian business people, following a seminar organized at the Chamber of Commerce, the statement said. "There is great understanding here from people in the ICT sector of the huge potential e-commerce ...

As of now, the decision on whether I will be at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s ( SCAA ) 19 th Annual Conference & Exhibition is up in the air. If I do (or not), this will be my first experience as a "blogger." The last time I visited the annual gathering was in 2005 here in Seattle. That was both fun and interesting - though costly. This year, however, I will be following the annual event and its pilgrims purposefully. While I am still deciding on whether or not to fly, I already have a story of my initial experience with the SCAA and will share it here soon. Regardless, I think the SCAA Annual Conference & Exhibition is one of the most important gatherings happening in the coffee industry. If you plan to be at there, do meet Siel the greenLAgirl ; she said wants to hear from you. To read her recent writing "Coffee Break: Starbucks' Misleading Numbers," click here . On a more serious note, I thought it was great that the keynote ...