Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Dear Customers,

Meet Mr. Tondo Eliazali, coffee farmers, and participant in the Peace Kawomera Cooperative’s matched savings program.

(Mr. Tondo, with Elias Hasulube in the background)

“By saving I can prepare for what comes in life. I would like to develop my home—our househould—with first cattle, then goats, and so many things which can benefit the family. My main reason for investing in cattle is for fertilizer for my coffee shamba (farm).”

Visit our Community Development section for more information on the Cooperative’s innovative microfinance program, focused on savings and investment.

Fair Trade mandates that 5 cents of every pound should be dedicated by the producing cooperative to community development. Today I visited Nankusi Elementary school, the local public school, where the cooperative recently provided funds for renovation of the building, and supplements to government-funded staff salaries. It’s absolutely incredible to see that the Cooperative is moving beyond serving only its members, and into a strong social and philanthropic organization in it community—but what’s even more incredible is the connection between the two: the students who attend this school are the children of the members of Peace Kawomera. Peace Kawomera helps to support the school, but it’s the income farmers make from their coffee sales that enables them to pay for their school fees, uniforms, and books. So, this picture of Nankusi Elementary School class P5 (fifth grade), is a picture of fair trade at work in a farming community. This, I think, is what fair trade looks like.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Coming soon, from the 705 farmers of the Peace Kawomera Cooperative, beautiful organic vanilla.

Today we visited four of Peace Kawomera’s three-dozen vanilla farmers, and developed a strategic plan to prepare and export the Cooperative’s first vanilla harvest. Ten years ago vanilla was the only thing going for some of these farmers. Coffee prices had plummeted, and vanilla prices jumped following the destruction of Madagascar’s crop in 2000-2001. But four years ago, vanilla prices dropped, and then dropped some more, and they haven’t recovered since. There are a number of reasons, one being that many food companies now use synthetic vanilla, and the other, of course, is that just like coffee, farmers often times receive only a fraction of the price that’s actually paid on the world market. This is where fair trade comes in, and creates an opening for farmers to capture the value of their crops.

We’ll be importing 250 lbs of cured vanilla beans, which should arrive by August ‘08. While the cooperative is still working out the costing for this piece of their business, it looks like the farmers will receive nearly what they made a decade ago—good news indeed, as they look to diversify their business, and build off the gains they’ve made from coffee.

See below for a few photos of Charles Nagimesi, one of the Cooperative’s vanilla farmers, as he pollinates the vanilla orchid flower, one-by-one.

Sometimes they say, relationships break down because of the little things. Today was a chance to work some of those details out, and get back on track with the real work of building a viable fair trade movement in eastern Uganda.

Peace Kawomera is part of a union of cooperatives called Gumutindo. Together, these cooperatives (now numbering 10) export their coffee together, and our able to realize the economic advantages of scale through increased volumes. Without the Gumutindo union, it’s unlikely that Peace Kawomera could be viable—the cost per pound to mill, pack, certify, and export would negate any gains made from higher prices. So it’s a marriage of convenience, in a way, or at least of mutual interest.

Some serious issues have been nagging at this relationship, and our meeting today was a chance to put it all out on the table. Together, JJ, Kakaire (Peace Kawomera’s Secretary Manager) and Gumutindo’s Managing Director Willington Wamayeye did a little bit of group therapy. Misunderstandings which had been festering for months were aired, frustrations addressed, and, after two hours, we had agreed on solutions to the challenges facing our work together.

For us, this is really the heart of our work: relationships. But more specifically, it’s these relationships, which are not always easy, or effortless, but powerful because they are built on shared need and mutual interest. Our business is unique because we create partnerships that are reciprocal: we need the farmers, as they need us. The farmers need Gumutindo, as Gumutindo needs them. Together, we create a business model built to be balanced, effective, and mutually beneficial.

This two hour meeting alone was worth all the leg cramps and airplane meals it took to get here. There is no way to have the kind of conversation we had today when you’re not face to face. So, this is why we visit our partners, and work together. And what’s perhaps most exciting, is that as with all relationships, what doesn’t break you makes you stronger. I left today’s meeting feeling like we had not only resolved some issues from the past, but stepped forward with more strength.

Party for Peace

Sunday afternoon, after church services, the Cooperative decided to throw a party. They’d been talking about how excited they were to share their music with us (for those of you who don’t know, there are grammy-nominated musicians in their ranks) and this was their chance to show off.

And show off they did. See the pictures below for a glimpse of the festivities, which lasted for over three hours, and featured 6 different groups from the Cooperative. Not to be outdone by each other, each group brought the full accompaniment of singers, dancers, drummers, and the occasional surprise guest dancer—all to the delight of the 300 or so people crammed into the Namanyonyi Synagogue, across from the Cooperative’s office.

I couldn’t help but think that this was the perfect symbol of the Cooperative’s efforts. Each group was composed of a cross-section of the farmer’s communities, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, making beautiful music together, and finding harmony with each other.

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Mbale, eastern Uganda, home of the Peace Kawomera Cooperative…and my new home for the next week!

After three days of travel, my colleague Sarah Bodnar and I arrived (finally!). Our flight from San Francisco, to Washington DC, to Rome, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was a real marathon. Then, after a night in Addis, we made a quick two hour connection to Entebbe, Uganda, which was followed by an 8-hour cab and bus ride out to Mbale. By the time we arrived, we were a little worse for the wear, but I have to say, there is something about the warmth and enthusiasm of these farmers that energizes even the most road-weary soul.

These past few days have been filled with meetings with the Cooperative’s Board of Directors, visits to farmer’s shambas (farms), and visits to the community’s mosque and synagogue. Tomorrow morning we head off for the local church.

Much has come together since my last visit in the summer of 2006. One of the big issues facing the cooperative at that time was a lack of management and experienced staff. Little did I know that Mohammed Kakaire Hatibu, who I met then, would be soon to graduate with a degree in business management, and then quickly become the Cooperative’s Secretary Manager. Kakaire’s contribution has been incredible; with his dedication and skills, he’s managed to organize the Cooperative’s operations, keep their books, coordinate their farmer-relations programs, and generally, keep the proverbial boat afloat. I’m proud to know that our profit-sharing program has provided the funds for Kakaire’s staff, and it’s really you all, buyers of this coffee, who should be proud that your support has enabled this important step forward.

We’ve been joined by Curt Fissel and Ellen Friedland, from JemGlo Productions. Curt and Ellen are the dynamic husband and wife team behind the documentary film, and they are here on their third and last visit to the cooperative, capturing the story of our work with the farmers on the ground, and the coffee’s origin.

So far they’ve tagged along for our series of workshops yesterday, where I shared the story of our interfaith outreach, and created a map for the farmers, showing each of the 86 congregations who now buy their coffee; following this presentation, we spent two hours listening to the farmers as they shared their thoughts on the challenges facing the cooperative–everything from lack of access to sufficient pre-harvest credit, to their desire to increase the amounts of organic fertilizer they are able to supply for their coffee trees; and we finished the day with a three hour session looking at the cost structure of their business, and ing different strategies for growth as they would create varying degrees of profitability. If this sounds like a full day, it was. But our conversations flow easily from one topic to the other, and the hallmark of our work, I think, is the nature of the relationship, which like all good relationships, allows us to listen, share, hear, and be heard, and through it all, celebrate the richness of life. By the end of the day we’d confronted difficult issues (how can a small cooperative stay profitable in market ted by giant multinationals), celebrated significant accomplishments (we now have 86 churches, synagogues, and mosques supporting our project), outlined plans for the future (the Cooperative’s first warehouse, and central processing center), and celebrated the beauty of this interfaith collaboration (we visited the local mosque for Friday prayers, and attended evening services at the Abayudaya’s synagogue).

I’ll be writing another post soon, with updates from this trip, so please check back soon…and, because I’m here, I’d love to be able to ask the farmers a question or two on your behalf–just post your questions on this entry, and I’ll respond with answers from the farmers.

Until then, weebale nno (thank you) for your support and partnership. Together, we are doing something incredible on the slopes of this beautiful mountain, in eastern Uganda.

Yours in Peace,

Ben

“Delicious Peace” wins the Dr. Jean Mayer Award!

Official Press Release from Tufts University
Dr. Jean Mayer Award Press Release

Tufts Institute for Global Leadership is proud to announce the presentation of the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citzenship Award to the Peace Kawomera Fair Trade Coffee Cooperative in Mbale, Uganda together with its partners Thanksgiving Coffee Company of Fort Bragg, California and the organization Kulanu (All of Us), a grassroots, US volunteer not-for-profit Jewish organization working with communities around the world.

Dr. Jean Mayer, former president of Tufts University, was a world-renowned nutritionist and scholar who advised three U.S. Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter) on issues of hunger and nutrition. This award was established “…To honor Jean Mayer, by challenging and inspiring our students and the University community, by bringing to Tufts distinguished scholars and practitioners whose moral courage, personal integrity, and passion for scholarship resonated his dictum that “Scholarship, research and teaching must be dedicated to solving the most pressing problems facing the world.” Sherman Teichman, the Director of the Institute wrote, “On behalf of the Institute, its 2008 EPIIC (Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship) program on”Global Poverty and Inequality,” Tufts University, and the Dr. Jean Mayer family, I want to convey our deep satisfaction at being able to acknowledge and assist your wonderful innovative and powerful efforts on behalf of alleviating poverty, creating accountable and sustainable trade practices, encouraging community peace and promoting interfaith harmony.

The Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award was designed to acknowledge exactly such remarkable efforts. And in the process, we wish to acknowledge the Executive Director of Tufts Hillel, Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, who has done superb work to tell the story of this community and support university education for its students.” He continued, “It is an honor to be able to have you all involved in our programs and we look forward to creating a solid partnership with the Institute and EMPOWER into the future as we mentor and encourage Tufts students to engage in the world of accountable, sustainable social entrepreneurship.”

Past recipients of the Dr. Jean Mayer Award include Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Paul Farmer, author Samantha Power and economist John Kenneth Galbraith.

The award ceremony and presentation will take place at Tufts University on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 8:00 PM at Cabot Auditorium. A delegation from the Peace Kawomera Cooperative including representatives from the Muslim, Jewish, Anglican and Catholic community, as well as Ben Corey-Moran and Holly Moskowitz of the Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Laura Wetzler of Kulanu will be present to speak about the work of the cooperative and to receive the award. The event will be cosponsored with Tufts Hillel which will join in hosting a dinner for the award recipients in conjunction with their Merrin Distinguished Lecture Series “Moral Voices” program.

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JJ Keki shares his feelings upon hearing this good news:

We PKC (peace kawomera cooperative) feel so grateful for having been chosen among
people who are using peaceful weapons to bring peace
onto this planet.

Yours J J for PKC