A few years ago I began using Fair Trade, organic, shade-grown coffee. That seemed like a relatively easy, if small, way to begin to raise the standard of living of the world’s poor coffee growers. When I learned that Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) was marketing Bishops Blend Fair Trade coffee, I began to buy it and then sell it at St. Paul’s Cathedral as part of the peace and justice committee’s commitment to sustainable living.

I was approached by ERD to be part of a group to visit the coffee growing cooperatives in Nicaragua and this sounded very interesting. I’d never been to Central America, and the idea of actually meeting the people who grow the coffee I drink was exciting. I knew that providing a reasonable coffee price for the growers was important. I had no idea that growing Fair Trade, organic coffee, and belonging to these coffee co-ops impacted their entire
lives.

Our group of six spent two nights and three days in one co-op called El Roblar, which has both women’s and men’s cooperatives. After a few years of working with their husbands but never being able to realize any autonomy, the women were able to create their own coop. They own and manage their own land and profits. They believe that this motivates and empowers their children.

Through the co-op and one organization, Cecocafen, that helps them, the growers are brought into every aspect of their work, from education about organic shade-grown coffee, to making organic compost, to tasting the finished product so that they know what their work is all about. For this they make about $3 a day, the cost of a gallon of gasoline (in March) in Nicaragua. They have no automotive transportation in this co-op; all products are transported by bus, or cart and mule.

The house I stayed in had some electricity, though others of our group stayed where there was none. There was no indoor plumbing. They live in a beautiful spot with green plants and trees are all around them. Flowers grow wild and profusely in their fields and gardens. There is self-esteem and pride, cleanliness, concern for the education of their children, care for their environment, and hope for their future. They may not have paved roads or an exotic diet, but they have my profound respect and admiration.

One of the most powerful moments of my trip was Palm Sunday. That morning we visited Coapante, the co-op that grows Bishops Blend’s Nicaraguan coffee. Here we walked their lush green farms and learned about their methods for growing and cleaning their coffee beans without polluting the environment.

Our trip leader was an Episcopal priest, and he celebrated the Eucharist for us and about 40 children and 20 adults on the co-op. As we figuratively walked the Passion and shared the cup of communion together I thought, “there is nothing here that separates us from the love of Christ of each other.” When I drink a cup of Bishops Blend coffee then, too, I am in communion with them. St. Paul’s strives to serve Bishops Blend coffee at all church functions, so parishioners can also be in communion with the farmers at Coapante.

When I go shopping these days I look for Fair Trade products. Transfair USA, who sponsored our trip, certifies coffee, chocolate, tea, and bananas.

You can be part of this ministry of hope when you buy Bishops Blend coffee and other Fair Trade products, and give to ERD’s global development projects. I hope you will think of our brothers and sisters and the spirit of hope that is represented in your cup of coffee.

Download the original article at Church Times.