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- The Partnership
- Fairly Traded Coffee
- Accountability
- Project Impact
- In the Beginning
- Background
- In the US
- In Tanzania
In the beginning a coffee farmer in the Mt. Meru region of Tanzania asked a visiting Milwaukee pastor the simple question; “We grow coffee; you drink coffee; would you buy your coffee from us?” With an answer of “Yes”, the Mt. Meru Coffee Project was born.
In 1996 the Diocese of Meru, ELCT, and the Greater Milwaukee Synod, ELCA, were joined in a global, faith-based partnership. The Mt. Meru Coffee Project had its beginnings during a 1999 partnership conference in the Diocese of Meru. At that time, the Milwaukee visitors were introduced to the coffee farmers and the great coffee grown on the slopes of Mt. Meru.
Following several years of envisioning, planning, and learning, the organization shaped a unique set of objectives, providing for a justice based connection between coffee farmers and consumers. In 2002, the first Mt. Meru Select Tanzanian Coffee was imported to Milwaukee.
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| Coffee arrives in Milwaukee |
The Mt. Meru Coffee Project, Inc. is incorporated as an independent not-for-profit business entity and is a part of and supported by the Greater Milwaukee Synod. The Project is managed by an all volunteer board of directors. The day-to-day operations in the US are managed by a Project Coordinator.
An average of 9 tons of Mt. Meru Select Tanzanian Coffee are imported, roasted, packaged and sold annually. Sales are made through “Ambassadors” and “Missionaries” in church congregations and through the support of civic organizations as well as retail and wholesale operations having a desire to support the Project’s justice based objectives.
The Diocese of Meru, the coffee project committee of the Diocese, and the stability of the church in Tanzania have provided a vital partnership link between the Project and the farmers in the early years. The business of coffee and its pricing was very unsettled in the many co-operatives and coffee business entities following the 1990’s. Small farmers were the victims of large financial losses and, therefore, were slow to accept the trustworthiness of any organization not supported by the church.
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Farmers loading their coffee for shipment to the auction.
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The farmers have determined that the Project is trustworthy. This is demonstrated in the Project’s growth from 200 farmers in 2002 to over 2,000 participating farmers today. Over a three year period, the Project has assisted the farmers in organizing and starting the Mt. Meru Specialty Coffee Growers Association (MMSCGA). This has brought together, in one democratic organization, approximately 2,000 coffee farmers that are members of 32 separate farmer groups and three different co-operative processing centers. The MMSCGA is a farmer managed coop working to benefit the individual small farmer member, improving resource inputs and product marketing locally, nationally and internationally.
The Project provides funding for the employment of a full time Project Coordinator in Tanzania. This person works with the US Project Coordinator and is responsible for the Project’s daily operations in Tanzania. He is also the Project’s public relations person there, working with the MMSCGA, the farmers, the Tanzania Coffee Board, banks, and government agencies to assist the farmers.
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The Mt. Meru Coffee Project differs from many fair trade programs and pricing practices, paying the farmers a minimum $2.20 per pound for the ready to roast, high quality “Mt. Meru Select Tanzanian Coffee” they produce. This $2.20 amount is often two to four times more than the prices paid by unscrupulous commercial buyers and in many cases 25% to 50% more than other fair trade program payments.
Mt. Meru Coffee Project differs in accountability from many other fair trade programs as it provides a direct connection between small coffee farmers and coffee consumers through its ministry partnership. This partnership provides the Project and farmers with an ability to openly discuss production expenses, inflationary pressures, cost of living, and crop sustainability processes, to determine a proper fair trade value for their coffee.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FAIR PAYMENTS
Coffee is one of the Worlds most heavily traded commodities, and a little history helps us to understand the small farmer’s predicament, their need for fair payments, and the necessity for consumer involvement.
In 1989 the ICO (International Coffee Organization) International Coffee Agreement of 1975-1989, which provided minimum price supports, collapsed, yielding to free market pressures. It is believed by some that this and this alone, caused the rapid decline of coffee trading prices into the mid and late 1990’s. It is also believed by some that production increases in the same relative time period, in anxious attempts to cover income losses, are a contributing cause
Coffee prices once held at a minimum of $1.20 per pound by ICO agreements in the 70’s and 80’s fell to below 50 cents per pound in mid 2001 and hovered there into 2004. With trade prices falling below the farmer’s actual production expenses, many farmers chose to give up on coffee farming, causing some to uproot coffee trees in search of other income producing crops. This reduced the overall amount of coffee available which increased consumer pricing, but did very little to increase the farmers income.
In the very late 1980’s and early 1990’s, about 100 million people involved in the exporting, importing, and marketing of coffee, and dependent on coffee for their livelihood, began to realize that many of the 50 to 75 million small coffee farmers in the world’s coffee growing regions, also dependent on coffee for a livelihood, were no longer producing the quantity and quality of coffee needed to meet their customers’ demands. Simply put, coffee growing was no longer providing an income that would support the farmer’s family or farm sustainability.
Fair trading developments, as we know them today, had a start with religious and civic organizations in the 1940’s and 50’s as they supported fair payments to local farmers or producers and expanded these practices into international trade for foods, crafts and art. Throughout history, fair trade has been practiced in principled civil societies with occasional flourishes of great success.
In 1988 the Max Havelaar Foundation founded the first fair trade labeling program, opening the way to today’s increasingly extensive and often expensive number of certification programs seeking the attention and support of consumers. Unfortunately, a few of these organizations act as thought they, and only they, are the true purveyors of fair trade and that only through their specific certification processes is anyone to be considered a true fair trade participant. Regrettably, many of these organizations provide the small producing farmer with little, if any, voice in their management or price setting policies.
The Mt. Meru Coffee Project differs from many fair trade programs and pricing practices, paying the farmers a minimum $2.20 per pound for the ready to roast, high quality “Mt. Meru Select Tanzanian Coffee” they produce. This $2.20 amount is often two to four times more than the prices paid by unscrupulous commercial buyers and in many cases 25% to 50% more than other fair trade program payments.
Mt. Meru Coffee Project differs in accountability from many other fair trade programs as it provides a direct connection between small coffee farmers and coffee consumers through its ministry partnership. This partnership provides the Project and farmers with an ability to openly discuss production expenses, inflationary pressures, cost of living, and crop sustainability processes, to determine a proper fair trade value for their coffee.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FAIR PAYMENTS
Coffee is one of the Worlds most heavily traded commodities, and a little history helps us to understand the small farmer’s predicament, their need for fair payments, and the necessity for consumer involvement.
In 1989 the ICO (International Coffee Organization) International Coffee Agreement of 1975-1989, which provided minimum price supports, collapsed, yielding to free market pressures. It is believed by some that this and this alone, caused the rapid decline of coffee trading prices into the mid and late 1990’s. It is also believed by some that production increases in the same relative time period, in anxious attempts to cover income losses, are a contributing cause
Coffee prices once held at a minimum of $1.20 per pound by ICO agreements in the 70’s and 80’s fell to below 50 cents per pound in mid 2001 and hovered there into 2004. With trade prices falling below the farmer’s actual production expenses, many farmers chose to give up on coffee farming, causing some to uproot coffee trees in search of other income producing crops. This reduced the overall amount of coffee available which increased consumer pricing, but did very little to increase the farmers income.
In the very late 1980’s and early 1990’s, about 100 million people involved in the exporting, importing, and marketing of coffee, and dependent on coffee for their livelihood, began to realize that many of the 50 to 75 million small coffee farmers in the world’s coffee growing regions, also dependent on coffee for a livelihood, were no longer producing the quantity and quality of coffee needed to meet their customers’ demands. Simply put, coffee growing was no longer providing an income that would support the farmer’s family or farm sustainability.
Fair trading developments, as we know them today, had a start with religious and civic organizations in the 1940’s and 50’s as they supported fair payments to local farmers or producers and expanded these practices into international trade for foods, crafts and art. Throughout history, fair trade has been practiced in principled civil societies with occasional flourishes of great success.
In 1988 the Max Havelaar Foundation founded the first fair trade labeling program, opening the way to today’s increasingly extensive and often expensive number of certification programs seeking the attention and support of consumers. Unfortunately, a few of these organizations act as thought they, and only they, are the true purveyors of fair trade and that only through their specific certification processes is anyone to be considered a true fair trade participant. Regrettably, many of these organizations provide the small producing farmer with little, if any, voice in their management or price setting policies.
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- Economic Justice
- Social Justice
If you break down the cost factors in a package of coffee, about 20% goes to purchase coffee from the farmer, approximately 55% covers operations and overhead, (roasting, packaging, shipping, printing, postage, etc.), and the remaining balance, after all expenses are paid, is utilized to fund local community and coffee sustainability projects in Tanzania.
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| New processing machine furnished by MMCP |
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In its eight years of operation, the Mt. Meru Coffee Project has provided the coffee farmers and their communities with funding of about $50,000 to maintain and improve the sustainability of the Project. Over the past eight years, a new coffee processing machine has been furnished, a new processing center is being financed, a truck has been purchased, and the Project has provided about $20,000 for co-op operations and farmer loans. In addition, the Project has assisted the farmers in developing the Mt. Meru Specialty Coffee Growers Association, enabling them to develop marketing and exporting capabilities, access additional markets and obtain prices greater than those offered by the local buyers.
What does the Project do other than purchase coffee at a fair price? The reply to such a question is multi-faceted. On the surface, purchasing coffee to provide small farmers a fair price and distributing coffee to justice conscious consumers is what the Coffee Project does. However, the support the Project provides, both directly and indirectly, to the farmers and their communities goes far beyond that.
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Hospital in Meru Diocese
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First of all, as part of the Partnership between the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Nikoranga HospitalELCA and the Diocese of Meru of the ELCT, the Coffee Project plays a significant role in the Partnership activities that support –
- A local hospital and clinics
- Schools and scholarship programs
- Hunger relief and water supply programs
- Parish to parish partnering, and numerous other long and short term projects.
Although the Coffee Project does not necessarily fund any of these directly, it does provide a solid platform that is used to open doors and start building interest in the Partnership, both in the US and in Tanzania.
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| Local School Children |
Secondly, the justice-based pricing provides the farmers with the ability to support their communities. With the higher prices that they receive, the farmers have funds to:
- Send their children to school and pay school fees, which means teachers get paid and have funds for supplies
- Visit the doctor when needed and pay for medication
- Attend to prenatal check ups, deliver babies in the hospital, and take their children for postnatal checkups and immunizations
- Open savings accounts
- Spend money in community stores and at community businesses that in turn allow that store or business owner to participate in the first 4 items.
The Mt. Meru Coffee Project is really not just about the coffee. It is about supporting a sustainable economic activity that can yield economic and social justice which, coincidently, happens to be delivered through a fully enjoyable product.
DOING JUSTICE NEVER TASTED SO GOOD!
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The Project and the the justice based fair pricing it provides has encouraged a rebirth of coffee farming as a sustainable family supporting source of income for thousands of farmers in the region.
The number of farmers participating in the Project has grown from 200 in 2002 to over 2,000 and continues growing today.
The prices paid by other coffee buyers in the region have increased to compete with the just and fair pricing the project provides. This increases the incomes for all coffee farmers in the region and enables many to now access health care, send children to school, and actively support their communities and churches.
Project income has provided for new processing equipment and facilitated improvements in the farmer’s cooperative processing centers, the purchase of a truck to facilitate transport of the coffee, and the development of micro credit loan programs to assist the farmers and their cooperatives.
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