Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Just a quick note to let you all know that 1) Ben went surfing for the first time since the trip began two weeks ago, and scored some sweet waves. For those of you who dont know, Ben (me) is a serious surf addict; you can expect musings on surfing and the world sometime in the near future on this very blog. 2) JJ didn’t go surfing, though he agrees that it looks like a lot of fun. My 5 mm wetsuit, boots, and gloves still couldn’t convince my dear friend from Uganda to brave the unseasonally warm waters of the north Pacific (47 degrees, plus or minus a few when you’re at the rivermouth). We’ve got two days off before hitting the road again for our west coast stint. More soon…

We’re stuck in Midway, waiting for our flight back to Oakland, land (hopefully) of sunshine, warmth, and NO MORE SNOW! But, before we get to that, what a wonderful day JJ and I just spent with the Jewish Reconstructionist Community of Evanston…

Our dear friend Elaine Waxman met JJ and I at the airport Saturday night, amidst snow flurries and freezing wind. Snuggled into the back of Elaine’s van were two of our favorite supporters; her daughters Kelsey and Katia, already wearing their PJs, and greeting us happily. The Jewish Reconstructionist Community of Evanston is one of our strongest supporters, and have made their participation in the Mirembe Kawomera coffee project an integral part of their community life. It was a joy to spend a short day with our old friends, and to share the news of how the last year has changed life in Uganda, and supported the families of the Peace Kawomera Cooperative. Special thanks to Elaine, Brant, Terry, and everyone who made our visit so wonderful…we look forward to seeing you again next year!

(The intrepid Kelsey talks the talk and walks the walk as part of her Bat Mitzvah project)

(Watch the trailer on YouTube!)

We were both amazed the first time we saw the documentary trailer. There is something about seeing your work captured on film that is surprising; somehow the story seems real in a new way, the complex threads weave together, the dialogue overlaps with the visuals, and condenses a whole world into a powerful distillation.

It’s thanks to Ellen Friedland and Curt Fissel, a dynamic husband-and-wife production team, that we have the opportunity to experience our story on film. Curt and Ellen, through their non-profit Jem/Glo, have worked on this film for the past year. Still in mi-production, the films should be complete sometime next year and there is hope for national distribution. Stay tuned for updates.

We arrived on Thursday, after a three hour drive from Ithaca, a few hours before the premiere screening at Temple B’nai Keshet. In addition to being home for Curt and Ellen, B’nai Keshet has for a long time been a supporter of Peace Kawomera, even passing a resolution to only buy this coffee for all synagogue events and functions. That evening, surrounded by the B’nai Keshet community and other supporters, we watched the trailer, and then listened as JJ, joined by his friends Noam Katz and Laura Wetzler, and others from the audience, played an impromptu concert of traditional music from Uganda.

Many thanks to Curt and Ellen for their wonderful hospitality, and for their incredible work. We know that the story of Peace Kawomera is a story of peace, a story that our world needs to know. Their film is helping to share this beautiful story, and through that, we hope, peace.

(Above, Noam, JJ, and Laura make beautiful music)

That’s what JJ said as we sat around our room in the Carl L. Becker residence hall here at Cornell University. Country music, again. And I’m wondering how it can be that we fall in love with each other’s music—me and others with JJ’s, he with ours—and country music no less! We’ve decided that when we return to California, we’ll make some tapes from the country stations in Mendocino (they’re plentiful!).

We’ve just finished up with our last event here at Cornell, a wonderful lecture, followed by a delicious dinner in JJ’s honor. As JJ chats with his family, thanks to his recently purchased long-distance phone card, I sit reflecting back on the past three days…

Arriving to the warm reception of Dean Cindy Hazan…

Graciously ferried from place to place by our friend Marielle Macher, who organized our schedule perfectly…

Curt Bayer and the kind folks at Ten Thousand Villages…

Rabbi Glass, Phyliss and our other new friends at Temple Beth El…

The students who met with us, and especially Jeff, who shadowed us with a bag of instruments that inevitably turned a meeting into a jam session…

The wonderful interfaith reception last night…

Eileen, head chef downstairs, who fed us the most delicious and wholesome food…

Wow!

JJ and I will leave tomorrow morning to continue our outreach, to continue spreading the word of delicious peace. We will leave knowing that we’ve made new friends, and that the circle of support continues to grow in wonderful ways. Check out the pictures below: JJ outside of Collegtown Bagels before his performance; the Carl L. Becker House crew; and JJ playing fair trade pan pipes from Ecuadar at Ten Thousand Villages.

Thank you to everyone who made these last three days possible!

JJ and I have our first free time in a few days. Kind of a relief. JJ’s discovered Democracy Now, and is commending Amy Goodman for her courageous reporting. Indeed. And though I’m from the country, I greatly prefer her show to the country station that he decided we should fall asleep to last night!

We’re in Ithaca, hosted very graciously by Cornell University, and a coalition of campus-based student groups.The funny thing here is that the posters, which we see everywhere, and which give both JJ and I a huge laugh every time, introduce “Grammy nominee JJ Keki and Ben Corey-Moran”, as if I had anything to do with JJ’s incredible music, or can even hold a melody! Still, JJ has told me that I’m now required to sing with him at all of our performances, because the people will expect it, so we’ll see what we can do.

Big ups to our friends at Ithaca College for a wonderful gathering last night. Julie, Jeff, Dara, Rabbi Glass, and everyone else who came out to meet JJ and share their support with us. Here are a couple of pictures…

It’s 11:30 on Sunday night, just a little over two days after the convergence began.. Just like that, it’s over. Just over three hundred students from every corner of the US, farmers and cooperative leaders from Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Tanzania, Ghana, and of course, Uganda. Joining JJ at this incredible gathering was Willington Wamayeye, the leader of Peace Kawomera’s export cooperative Gumutindo. All together, the convergence represented a gathering of some of the fair trade movements most inspired leaders, supporters, and dreamers.

I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of coming together at this kind of conference, and of furthering our understandings of fair trade as a model, and as a broader movement. It’s incredibly energizing to be surrounded by so many people committed to working together to strengthen this movement to transform the economic links connecting our world, and building justice.

Then of course, there are the simple, and funny and beautiful moments of human interaction. Watching JJ walk down the icy sidewalks of Boston (check the picture, yes that’s Fenway Park in the background), cold and happy, translating from spanish to English as JJ and Willington spoke with fair trade banana farmers from Ecuador, and joining in fascinating conversations with students hungry for a better understanding of fair trade, its strengths and weaknesses, and its future direction.

Tomorrow we leave for Ithaca, for Cornell University, and beyond. JJ will leave behind many new friends, all inspired by his story, and the work of Peace Kawomera for peace and justice. I can only marvel, and reflect with gratitude, at the blossoming that continues to expand the community of support for this incredible project. I’d be sad to take JJ away from this weekend, except that I know he’s not really leaving. During his keynote speech on Friday night he began with his signature introduction: my name is JJ Keki. JJ Keki, at Yahoo-dot-com.

Thanks to Rabbi Jeff Summit and Richard Sobol for lunch! JJ and I are in Boston for United Students for Fair Trade’s annual convergence. But before it all began, we were lucky enough to sneak away for a quick lunch with two of JJ’s oldest American friends.

Over lunch of pastrami sandwiches (Kosher, yes JJ) we heard the exciting news from Jeff and Richards work: the recordings they made during their visit to the cooperative in August have been well recieved, and it is likely that Smithsonian Folkways will release the album in the coming year. The album features music from the farmers of Peace Kawomera; the songs they sing while they pick coffee, the songs the cooperative has composed to teach its members about fair trade, about quality production, and about the virtues of cooperation and peace. To go along with the music will be Richard’s beautiful photographs of life in the cooperative. We thank Jeff and Richard for the delicious lunch, but more importantly, for their beautiful contribution to this project.