“Yet, ironically, these people - deprived of everything - had one resource that the whole world wanted: coffee, grown at high altitude on the fertile slopes of Mount Elgon, which was virtually indistinguishable from its famous Kenyan counterpart. Unable to export their beans legally, farmers traded them on the black market - and Kenya, a two-day trek from the Konokoyi valley where I am standing now, was their conduit to the coffee-drinking world.”

Read the entire article.

Also, check out Mr. Purvis’ blog for his thoughts on the real reasons why fair trade matters.

Here’s to the farmers, whose remarkable story continues to inspire me, and hopefully you too!

In Peace,

Ben

Rising food costs directly effect the farmers of the Peace Kawomera Cooperative. Though most grow a significant portion of their own food on their farms (along with their coffee), many buy some percentage of their food, especially grains (either wheat bread or rice) in town. Rising costs make it difficult for the farmers to feed their families, and spread their earnings from coffee all too thin. Underneath this challenge though, is a situation many decades in the making: for years, coffee has been the only lucrative crop, so farmers have invested in coffee, and moved away from growing food. But though their incomes have increased, their ability to provide for their family with the extra money their earning is starting to decline. It’s been two steps forward, and now a step backward.

How did this happen?

We could spend a lot of time pointing fingers, and the truth is that there are more guilty parties than we can count. Failed UN efforts, corruption, war, climate change, and the collapse of stable markets are just a few of the leading suspects. What’s clear is that prioritizing the needs of farmers and their families has long since lost traction in the world’s circles of power. Large-scale solutions such as liberalizing government policy (ie privatizing and reducing trade barriers) have exposed farmers to the hardest-hitting competition in the world, and as one would expect, the big guys win pretty quickly. A Ugandan farmer trying to make a profit on her surplus corn is in a bad way when she is selling to a market that’s controlled by giant American multinationals, and supplied by giant industrialized farms in the US cornbelt that are heavily subsidized by American tax dollars. So, for farmers like the 754 members of Peace Kawomera, the last 20 years have seen a decline in crop prices, which means three things: one, it’s harder to make a living growing food, two, it’s cheaper to buy food, it makes more sense to grow cash crops like coffee, which don’t face competition from subsidized production elsewhere.

This, for many economists, is a good thing. Specialization (those who grow corn best grow corn, those who don’t shouldn’t) should calibrate the economy towards efficiency. Farmers in Uganda should grow coffee, and sell it to farmers in Iowa who grow corn, and visa-versa. Farmers took this philosophical and economic bait and ate it too (who wouldn’t, it’s a rational choice considering the options—work to grow crops to sell and then make very little money, or give up those crops and buy food at the new cheap prices). As food got cheaper, farmers started to grow less, and buy more. But then things changed. Food prices have skyrocketed, and now, farmers are faced with food prices that are beyond their means.

The UN’s recent call to action is a dramatic attempt to stave off disaster. In the short term, it may be necessary, but it’s not a long-term solution to the deepening problem, which is only exacerbated by population growth, climate change, and economic tremors caused by the challenge of peak oil.

It’s worth rewinding a few weeks in the news, to the attempted passage of the US Farm Bill.The Economist weighed in on the absurdity of some of the Farm Bill’s most notorious features (not only continuing a lavish subsidy program, but tying future subsidy levels to today’s record commodity prices), and others, like The Center for Ecoliteracy, have worked to draw the connection between the bill, farming, health, and the impact on our local food systems. What’s important to note here though, is that the farm bill is at the root of the hunger crisis now facing farmers around the world. In the US especially, but also in Europe, farm subsidies support the business of farming locally, but prop up an unsustainable commodity production, dramatically distort prices, and create a surplus of really cheap food. This food then travels the world, and finds its way untaxed into local markets, where it arrives at low prices, often undercutting the ability of local farmers to compete and make a profit. This is an important piece of the puzzle: the reduction of trade barriers in the third world and increased subsidies in the first world flood local markets and combine to dramatically alter the economy of farming and the social web of food production.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the paradigm itself is unsustainable. It’s not going to work to overproduce food, and ship it from one side of the world to the other. For a while, that seemed logical, at least on some economic grounds. But now, the cost of that model has increased to the point where it’s clearly broken. Farmers are stuck in the midst of a situation that they did not create, and struggling to get by. It’s past time to envision and work towards a different paradigm, one that prioritizes the needs of farmers and their families, and understands that this is the only basis from which to build a strong and sustainable global economy. Henry Saragih, International Coordinator for Via Campesina, has written a subtle but provocative letter that hints at what this new direction might look like.

In the meantime, the farmers of Peace Kawomera are working to build a stable market for their coffee, which helps to bring some economic security to their families. The Cooperative is working on helping the farmers develop their coffee production, and balance cash-cropping with food production. It’s going to be a long journey together, but our hope is that by doing our part we can work to establish a model that works for farmers and their families—both because coffee, which is and should be a viable cash crop is now profitable, and because farmers can use these earnings and the cooperative’s support to return to food production, and achieve a healthy balance in their farming between feeding their families and earning money to pay for the other necessities of life.

From the UN summit in Rome to the floor of the US congress, and all the way to the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda, the challenge of our time is weaving together a globalized economy that works for everyone, now, and in the future. Should we be surprised to learn that it’s all connected, that just like an ecosystem, one change creates another, and a challenge one place is simultaneously a challenge somewhere else?

From Tzaadi.com, an interesting perspective on Mirembe Kawomera and the larger struggles facing Africa, and Africans.

A snippet: “We should be looking to stories of self-reliance and ingenuity that show how Africans themselves are healing their continent from the inside out. Read more.

From Your Daily Thread, an LA-based blog about all things fair trade, hip, and sustainable.

A snippet: “Thanksgiving brings to mind turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce – and coffee? Sure, Thanksgiving is still far away – and maybe coffee isn’t a traditional Thanksgiving food – but we are definitely ready to give thanks for California-based Thanksgiving Coffee. Read more.

From Faith House, an innovative approach to building interfaith bridges and relationships, based in Manhattan.

A snippet: “We invite you to join efforts like this and harness the buying power of your community for peace and justice, and to heal the broken relationships of our world.” Read more.

Yours in Peace,

Ben

Reverend Will Scott, Grace Cathedral

There seems to be a real movement happening in the United States and all around the world – a movement of “staying awake” – becoming more aware of how deeply we are connected to one another, and how much our choices affect the well being of others. The Internet and other communication technologies have helped many of us become more aware of the ways in which our lifestyles affect other people. Fair trade is one way to allow our love for God, our care for our neighbors and for the earth to infuse more of what we do.

Many Christians advocate simplicity, i.e. consume less of the world’s goods, buy less. The motto “live simply so that other’s might simply live” comes to mind. More and more Christians in addition to consuming less are also seeking to contribute to the good of the global and local community by how they engage in the marketplace. From fair trade gifts to buying livestock
for poor villages during the holidays, Christians and other people of faith are waking up to new ways of serving God and bringing hope to others.

Recently, my brother shared with me how college students around the country are asking that their campuses serve local produce to support family farms. As a priest, I think all this conscientious consumption is connected to the deep human longing to be awakened to God’s purposes, to be part of God’s realm of love and peace. I think this concern for where our food comes from, for how something is made and by whom is all about waking up, is all about loving our neighbors —even strangers— as ourselves. This conscientious consumption may be a spiritual discipline inviting us to consider how we seek and serve God in all persons, including those that made the clothes on our backs, or picked the vegetables we eat, or harvested the coffee we drink or bagged all these items at the store.

Our faith insists that we tell the truth. A modern Christian confession asks us to confess the evil things we have done, and those evil things that have been done on our behalf. We must name the cruelty, injustice, ecological devastation, and the greed that is part of our contemporary economic system. The Fair Trade Movement helps us get real, to be more honest about who we are and what we are doing to make the world a better place. May the Fair Trade Movement help us all stay alert, keeping awake to the urgent message of God’s love for us, and our responsibility to share that love with all people in all our words and deeds.

Grace Cathedral recently began serving fair trade coffee at all our church events. We have partnered with the Interfaith Council of San Francisco and Thanksgiving Coffee Company’s Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative, an interfaith co-op in Uganda. On Easter Sunday, we were treated to a visit by a group of these coffee farmers, and together celebrated in song God’s life among us.

Nyla Khan, Islamic Foundation School

Fair Trade – A Muslim’s Perspective

Fair trade is in total congruence with Islam and Islam is in total congruence with fair trade. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him) have related over and over the ideas of fairness and justice – on the part of the buyer and the seller.

“A truthful and trustworthy trader will be in the company of the Prophets, the very truthful, and the martyrs.” (Tirmidhi)

This Hadith underscores the importance of a trader’s integrity. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him), traders wanted wealth so badly, they didn’t care how they acquired it, thus the basis of this Hadith. I think that these days, as consumers, we want THINGS so badly, we don’t care where we get these things from. It is our duty as consumers, Americans, Muslims, and human beings to be very careful about where our food, clothing, necessities and accessories come from and where our money goes. By engaging in fair trade, we can at least uphold our end of the bargain.

Rabbi Brant Rosen, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation

One of my favorite Talmud passages comes from this discussion about the blessing after eating:

“It is written, ‘The earth and its fullness are God’s’ (Psalms 24:1), and it is written ‘He has given the earth to the children of man’ (Psalms 115:16). This is no contradiction. The first verse is before man’s blessing, and the second verse is after the blessing.” (Talmud - Berachot 35a)

As it is often fond of doing, the Talmud presents two Scriptural verses that seem to contradict on another. In this case, they are two verses from the Psalms: one claims that the earth belongs to God, and the other holds that the earth belongs to humanity. So which is it?

The Talmud points out that while the world indeed does belong to God, the earth becomes ours to enjoy in direct proportion to our recognition of God’s dominion over it. If we fail to properly acknowledge God’s proprietorship of the goods we use, in a sense we commit a kind of thievery when we dare to use them for our own ends. That’s why as Jews, we dare not enjoy the blessings of this world without first saying a blessing.

I find a great deal of spiritual power in this teaching: that the world becomes ours to enjoy only when we acknowledge that it really doesn’t belong to us. I also believe that this insight has profound implications for a world in which humanity too often claims exclusive proprietorship over its bounty – where increasingly powerful interests are claiming ownership over increasingly diminishing resources.

I sometimes find myself wondering, what would it mean for our global world economy if we truly took this teaching to heart: that none of it was ever really ours to begin with? One thing I do believe is that it would force us to confront the chronic sense of entitlement we have toward the earth’s resources. And I also believe it would give us a much deeper sensitivity to the process by which goods and services reach our door.

I think that more than anything else, this is why, as a Jew, I am so drawn to the Fair Trade movement. Fair Trade is a discipline that demands mindfulness of a greater good when we consume certain goods: of fair prices to those who actually produce the products we enjoy, to safer working conditions, to sustainable development in their communities, to the sustainability of their farms.

I do believe, as I learn from the Talmud, that when we consume with a sense of personal entitlement, we are guilty of a kind of theft. Much like the utterance of a blessing, when we support Fair Trade we demand conscious consumption.

Revered Ann Myosho Kyle Brown, Kumeido Zen Center

Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the celebration of World Fair Trade Day, I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for Thanksgiving Coffee Company and the Mirembe Kawomera Coffee Cooperative in Uganda for their fine work in helping to alleviate global poverty and promote sustainability.

To move individuals and communities from a position of vulnerability and to a position of security and economic self-sufficiency is a noble task, springing from the essence of the Buddhist principle of Right Livelihood which states that Buddhist practioners not engage in trades or occupations which either directly or indirectly lead to harm to individuals or systems.

Right Livelihood is but one element of the Buddha’s Nobel Eightfold Path to enlightenment which includes: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Though the path is numbered one through eight, it is not a series of linear steps through which one must progress; but rather the simultaneous development of wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline, as far as possible according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others.

As such, JJ Keki, founder and director of Peace Kawomera Cooperative, was truly inspired with Right View to have conceived of the idea of bringing together his Jewish, Christian and Muslim neighbors to work for their mutual benefit and the benefit of all.
For these neighbors to bridge their historical differences and operate with trust and cooperation clearly required Right Speech, Right Effort and Right Mindfulness. For the Katzeff family to recognize the great value of their endeavor and commit to supporting and promoting not just their coffee but their values is a remarkable manifestation of Right Aspiration and Right Action.

This is an enlightened project which fills me with hope and faith in these troubled times around the world.

May all beings realize their true nature of oneness. May all beings be free from fear and danger. May all beings be happy and able to protect their happiness. May all beings be peaceful.

Deep bows to all of you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Ann Myosho Kyle Brown
Kumeido / The Little River Zen Center
A Soto Zen Buddhist Sangha

So, that’ a long way of saying that I’ve been thinking about freedom and justice extra hard lately, and I thought I’d share a few thoughts on the topic, as it relates to fair trade.

Fundamentally, fair trade is about changing the character of economic relationships so that producer and consumer come together in a whole partnership, one that sustains, nourishes, and shares. For farmers, this often means a transformation of the conditions of their lives—from poverty, and struggle of not having enough, to freedom, and the ability to choose with agency. It’s the difference between choosing which child not to send to kindergarten, and choosing which child to send to high school or even college. The uniting of farmers with consumers in a relationship that is direct, just, and sustaining changes the world. It creates a condition of freedom, or at least, circumstances of life that are more-free, with the possibility of the ever-opening pursuit of more freedom.

This is the heart of fair trade’s freedom, but it is only one side of a partnership, and its pursuit is incomplete (and I might say impossible) without an exploration of freedom’s other side.

Far away from the farmers who grow our coffee, we walk through the automatic doors of our neighborhood supermarket and are confronted with a countless number of choices. Products offer us health, energy, deliciousness, maybe even the fullness of satisfaction. We feel our power, and choose our favorite loaf of bread from the selection. Our favorite peanut butter. Our favorite fruit jam or jelly. So many choices. Then it’s on to bananas or oranges, maybe both, and apples, pears, lettuce and spinach. Then the coffee section. Strong or sweet, ground or whole bean, flavored or not. We wheel our carts to checkout, each of pushing a metal cart containing the results of our choices—or is it a cage containing the work of our freedom, a definition of self expressed through our agency to choose within the choices given to us?

What interests me is the question how are we to understand our freedom as consumers. To move from choosing within the narrow choices given to us, and the meaning of those choices, literally manufactured by a corporate culture, towards an economy where we choose in a broadly free way, where meaning is personal, and the process of choosing is liberated from external pressure, definition, and constraint.

This seems to me to be a study of the unfreedom of our condition as consumers in a world beyond our control, our blind (or distorted) participation in relationships formed predominantly by another’s choices, our day-to-day feeding of a social organism directed and guided to serve the interests of some over the many. If freedom is the ability to choose, to connect, and to know in truth, then we are greatly deceived by the illusion of freedom we so surrounded within.

Fair trade proposes a very different kind of freedom, the freedom to choose not only for self (think back to health, deliciousness, satisfaction) but also to choose for other. The possibility of choosing to consume in a way that takes and gives, the possibility, as I’ve written elsewhere, to re-imagine our role as consumers to be more like co-producers in a world where farmers feed, and are fed. Where we who take do our taking in a way that sustains the ability of those who give to give.

These are the two sides of fair trade’s work for freedom. I hope that you who know the story of Peace Kawomera, who’ve met the farmers, read their interviews, and thought of them when you bought and drank their coffee—you who’ve made this project whole and who it possible for our company and their cooperative to continue our work—I hope that your participation has given you a new sense of freedom, your freedom, and another’s, together awakening a new, more whole, more free world.

Yours in Peace (and for Freedom),

Ben

Over the course of the past four weeks, as we’ve met with community leaders, presented our work to interfaith coalitions, and individual congregations, we’ve kept a growing stack of signup sheets for our email newsletter. By the end, the stack had that nice heavy feel of a full file folder—substantial, and gratifying, but also…kind of a chore to enter each name and email, hundereds of ‘em.

At least that’s what I thought. So I came in to work early this morning. Sat down with a sweet cup of Byron Corrales Martinez’s organic Maracaturra (Byron is and has been a mentor for me, he’s a leader in the cooperative movement in Nicaragua, and a dear friend. No, contrary to popular belief, I don’t only drink Mirembe Kawomera coffee.) I put Midnite on my headphones (great politically charged reggae from St. Croix) and started typing one-by-one-by-one, trying to enjoy the time, but mostly looking forward to being done with it.

And then…I started to pay attention to the names, to enjoy their sounds and to imagine their stories. Luo, McDowell, Shapiro, Qarni, Najmi…that was Boston, I think. Panitz, Curtis, Abu Jamal, Allen, Ali, Van Besien, Weisbaum…that was Chicago, the sign-up sheet from our event at Columbia College. Then Lupien, Khan, Gardner, Hasaan, Mulazim, and Gardner, from Baltimore . These people were standing next to each other, probably talking, maybe shaking hands, perhaps trading phone numbers and email addresses. Read their names out loud, for yourself. Imagine the world they are living in. People of all different backgrounds, faiths, and histories, together in a moment, a rich tapestry of human experience, weaving their disparate threads together around this project…

So now, with the chore transformed into a kind of treasure hunt, I sit and ponder the beauty of this work to build peace by working together; the work of creating a pluralistic society where are differences are cause for celebration and a source of inspiration, rather than a cause for division and conflict.

Still yours, in Peace,

Ben

We’re home safely—JJ, Sinina, Margaret, and Sam in Uganda, and Holly and I on the Mendocino Coast—after our last week on the road, and an incredible month-long tour. I spoke with JJ this morning, and as you could expect, he’s thrilled to be home with his new baby girl Grace Ellen Ntuyo. In JJ’s proud words, “She’s very beautiful, and very fine”.

Since my last post we visited new friends in Sacramento, celebrated our work in San Francisco with their Interfaith Council, and their members the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, Temple Emanu-El, The Islamic Society of San Francisco, Congregation Sherith Israel, culminating in a day with Grace Cathedral, where the Reverend Alan Jones gave a wonderful Easter Sermon. Then on to Los Angeles where we were hosted by the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council, The Wilshire Boulevard Synagogue, and Holy Family Church in Pasadena. Our trip ended with a quick, but wonderful visit to Olympia, Washington, where a young but inspired interfaith collaboration is in the works, led by Beth Hatfiloh, Interfaith Works, and others.

All too soon, it was March 27, 5:30 in the morning, in an airport motel down the road from the Seattle airport. We were stuffing too many suitcases in too small a van for the last time, and this time, as we moved through check-in and security, Holly and I stepped back and watched as our friends made their way through to their gate, to Boston, through Amsterdam, back to Uganda. And I couldn’t help but feel that it felt a little like a family was being split up, or at least saying going different ways, out into the world to live our own lives, but with the knowledge that there is a place and people to come back to. I often find myself looking for aspects of community, family, and friendship in my relationships through this work. As I’ve said before, when you get down to it, business is really just a certain kind of relationship between people. And more often than not, thankfully and beautifully, I find these connections. For me, the teary departure, the proud goodbyes, are signs that we are on the right path, that we are coming together on the most fundamentally human terms, honestly, genuinely, in relationship that is not free from struggle, but rich with learning, growth, and real progress.

I know that though our tour was overbooked, overscheduled, underslept, and sometimes frantic, we did in fact share this same family-like connection with hundreds, if not thousands of people across the country. To those of you who have brought this story into your life, who organized an event, hosted us in your home, sang along, asked a question, or wished us well, thank you. It’s great to be home, great to get some rest, and great catch up with friends and family. But it’s hard to say goodbye, not only to JJ, Sam, Margaret, and Sinina, but to each of you, and the whole experience of being welcome in the world, at home, far away from home.

Yours in Peace,

Ben

Well, the answer is a long one. And there’s hardly been a break in our schedule to sleep, let alone drop a note on our blog. Why have we been so busy? Well…

We’ve been meeting with dozens of our supporters—churches, synagogues, and mosques—all across the country.

We’ve been packing and unpacking far too many suitcases, in cars far too small for all of our baggage, let alone all of us and all of our baggage.

We’ve been moving from city to city, town to town, sharing our story of peace, juggling radio interviews, reporters requests for photo shoots, and trying to make at least a little bit of time at each stop to see the sights. So far, Sam likes Chicago most. Margaret is taken with New York. Sinina is partial to San Francisco, but I think she likes the sunshine most, so LA may be the ultimate winner. As for JJ, as those of you who know the man, he’s pretty much happy everywhere, and would take the world for his home if he could be everywhere at once.

We’ve been welcomed in the most amazing ways by communities from Baltimore to Washington to Chicago, and now in California, Sacramento and San Francisco. We’ve been thrilled at each stop.

The Bolton Street Synagogue in Baltimore, packed to overflowing with the city’s Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities.

A fantastic series of events in Chicago, which showed that there is truly an interfaith movement coming together because of this project—standing ovations from hundreds of young Muslims at the Islamic Foundation School, an interfaith welcome organized by the Chicago Fair Trade Coalition, a visit with our dear friends at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, and an exciting first meeting with St. Sabina’s Catholic Church on Chicago’s southside.

Listen to an interview on Worldview, from WBEZ Chicago.

(Special thanks to Nancy Jones of the Chicago Fair Trade Coalition, and Elaine Waxman of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston for organizing our time in Chi-town.)

Then back home, a beautiful gathering in Santa Rosa, California, on our way to Mendocino, Thanksgiving’s hometown, where we were welcomed by a sold out benefit dinner to raise money for the cooperative’s efforts to combat malaria.

All in all, it’s been quite a whirlwind. A combination of exhausting and exhilarating, non-stop, and unstoppable.

I find myself thinking a lot these days about what it means to be traveling in the service of peace, to be sharing this story of hope at a time when we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. So many lives have been lost, so much hatred has been stoked and sustained. And yet, in these same five years, in this community in Uganda, people have been working together for peace. And in this country, in last 4 years, we have been working to bring this story of peace into people’s lives, and these people have been working to make sure that the farmer’s efforts succeed. Two very different stories, the same world. Two different examples of our human capacities. I hope that each of you reading this blog has had the chance to meet these amazing farmers, and I’m thankful to all of you who’ve joined us to affirm that we can in fact work for a more peaceful world. We’ll continue in our work, and we hope you will too. One day, as JJ’s been saying, maybe we’ll learn to stop fighting each other, and work to create the heaven of our dreams right here on this earth.

On our one day off, I took JJ surfing. It was amazing, and a joy for me to share this pursuit which I love so much with my dear friend. I think JJ caught the bug, and as we walked back along the beach with our boards under our arms, JJ told me, At first, I was afraid of the waves, and felt like they were trying to attack me, to hurt me. Then I saw you out there, playing, having fun, and I realized the waves were just being waves. So I tried not to fight them, but to accept them as they came towards me. I relaxed, and pretty soon, I felt like they were there to offer me their beauty and their energy.

And of course, I can’t help but comment that Senator Obama’s speech earlier this week should help us imagine a deeper vision of who “we” are, both as Americans, and as citizens of this world.

So, where have we been? Many places. I think the question really is, where are we going?

Mirembe Kawomera “Delicious Peace” Coffee is a revolutionary kind of product: it’s the story of the farmers who grow it, it’s their dream of peace, and it’s also a delicious coffee. It’s all of these things woven together to create a new kind of relationship…or should we say, a new kind of business?

What better way to cultivate these relationships than to spend time together?

Starting late next month, a delegation of four Ugandan coffee farmers and two Thanksgiving Coffee staff will travel to share the story of our efforts to build peace through fair trade. These four farmers will share the story of their struggle to overcome a history of religious conflict by uniting in a common effort to earn a fair price for their coffee. The delegation will include Sinina Namudosi (Muslim), Joab Jonadab Keki (Jewish), Margret Buhinizi (Catholic), and Samuel Ngugo (Anglican). Please stay tuned for more event details and specifics, and call Holly Moskowitz at 800-462-1999×49 for more information.

29-Feb Boston, MA Shabbat Service Tufts University

1-Mar Boston, MA Opening Ceremony for Interfaith Conference Tufts University

2-Mar Boston, MA Workshops at Conference Tufts University

3-Mar Boston, MA The Rashi School, Newton, MA 11:15am Julie 781.859.9363

4-Mar Boston, MA Jean Mayer Award Tufts University

5-Mar Boston, MA Travel to NY

6-Mar New York, NY Manhattan Neighborhood Network Interview

Interfaith Event St. John’s Lutheran Church – 83 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014 7:00 PM Luna Kaufman 212.308.9645

7-Mar Montclair, NJ Turkish Mosque 3:00 PM sema kaymak 201.456.6439

Montclair, NJ Kabalat Shabbat B’nai Keshet Synagogue - 99 South Fullerton

8-Mar Montclair, NJ Shabbat Services B’nai Keshet Synagogue - 99 South Fullerton

Terra Tea and Fair Trade Montclair, NJ 2:00 PM

9-Mar Clifton, NJ Allwood Reformed Church 100 Chelsea Road 10:30 am

South Orange, NJ Interfaith Event Seton Hall University - 400 South Orange Ave 2:00 PM

10-Mar Washington, DC Interfaith Event * 6th & I Historic Synagogue 7:00 PM Lee Salawitch 800.323.3244

11-Mar Private event - closed 6:30PM

12-Mar Towson, MD Towson Hillel 2:00PM (12:00 lunch-closed event) Contact: Ken 513.503.9559

Baltimore, MD Interfaith Event Bolton Street Synagogue 7:00 PM Elisabeth Liebow (410) 235-5354

13-Mar Chicago, IL “WorldView: Chicago Public Radio 2:00 PM

Chicago, IL Interfaith & Fair Trade Event Columbia College - 1104 S. Wabash 6:00 PM Elaine Waxman 773.274.4978

14-Mar Chicago, IL School Meeting Evanston High School 10:00 AM Elaine Waxman 773.274.4978

2:00PM Islamic Foundation School, Villa Park, IL

Chicago, IL Shabbat Service Jewish Recon. of Evanston – 303 Dodge Ave 7:00 PM Elaine Waxman 773.274.4978

15-Mar Winnetka, IL Congregation Hakafa Winnetka community House, 620 Lincoln 9:15AM

Chicago, IL Faith Community of Saint Sabina 1:00PM Rev. Pfleger 773.483.4300

16-Mar Santa Rosa, CA Unitarian Universalist Congregation Melissa Kort 707.526.7780

17-Mar Mendocino, CA DAY OFF

18-Mar Mendocino Community High School 8:30 AM

Anderson Valley High School 12:00PM

Casper, CA Interfaith Event Casper Community Center -
15051 Caspar Road 6:00 PM

19-Mar Sacramento, CA Interfaith Event Westminster Presbyterian Church – 1300 N Street 5:00 PM Rabbi David Wechsler-Azen (916) 485-4478

20-Mar San Francisco, CA Purim Celebration Congregation Emanu-El - 2 Lake St 5:45PM

21-Mar San Francisco, CA Friday Prayers Islamic Society Mosque - 400 Crescent Ave 1:00 PM

San Francisco, CA Kabbalat Shabbat Congregation Emanu-El - 2 Lake St 5:30PM

22-Mar 9:30 am Congregation Sherith Israel 2266 California Street San Francisco, CA Shabbat Service

23-Mar 11am & 6pm Easter Services; 4:30pm reception Grace Cathedral 1100 California Street
San Francisco, CA Service

24-Mar Woodland Hills, CA Woodland Hills Church of Christ - 23363 Burkank Blvd 7:00PM Cambria Smith 818-718-6460 ext 3011

25-Mar South Pasadena, CA Holy Family Church 7:00PM Allis Druffel 626-403-6141

26-Mar Olympia, WA Interfaith Event Temple Beth Hatfiloh 7:30PM Sheri Gerson 360.786.0843

27-Mar Farmers fly back to Uganda

*Admission Fee