So, the country’s poor. But its widely thought, and reported every day that the big wigs in the government (who incidentally are most of the revolutionaries who fought for the rights of the workers against the dictator Somoza in the 70’s) are creaming cash left right and centre. But this place is full of NGOs, and trade certifications, and volunteers, and international organisations donating money for infrastructure… it doesn’t fit. The Fairtrade premium is spent on things like schools and roads that are frankly the governments job, and there’s little evidence of the government actually doing anything.
BUT the thing about the Fairtrade certification is that it does far more than give money for things that should be statutory… it supports education and farming methods that will avoid erosion and flooding and death, and in my book that’s a bloody good thing because despite it being charming and beautiful there are definitely 2 big problems in this country – ignorance, as evidenced by the chucking of litter around by everyone, and weather. Cities have water problems because too many trees have been cut from the hills around, and the rains cause huge mud slides in the more rural areas for the same reason.
So it seems to me that, as ever, hard cash on its own is never a solver of problems in itself, and that’s why Fairtrade is a damn good thing – but hard to explain why. And we, over the other side of the world, need to have something to rely on that we can trust. One thing though – the premium doesn’t seem to have changed for quite a while, and we know that prices of everything else have gone up – perhaps that’s the next job for the Fairtrade middle men like Sopexxca. They are the voice of the farmers after all.
That´s probably about it for coffee. It´s 3 weeks ´til home time, I´m starting to run out of steam and the broken and battered remains of my working life in London are calling. All that will remain is for you to find your way to Hackney in a month`s time and sample some of the classy Miraflor coffee flowing from my sexy recycled kitchen that I miss so much.
x
4 comments:
not that broken and battered - there may be some PW work - Jo did mention she was going to look at dates to tie in with your return to the world of work.
Looking forward to the coffee!
xx
Ignorance isn't just their problem - it's ours too. I expect most people (me included until your enlightenings) think Fairtrade just means things cost more because more money goes to the producer.
You've shown that the money the producer gets can actually be less, but it's the other things it guarantees - infrastructure and eco standards - that can be more important.
Without wishing to get too political, I see buying Fairtrade like voting for Ken Livingstone - far from perfect and not fixing everything we might want it too, but when the alternative is Boris Johnson - you've got no choice.
As for the kitchen - the semi-recycled new bathroom is looking damn sexy too and is FINALLY fully functional. Let's all share a bath.
Hey Rebs! Looking forward to your return....am working on some work ideas. When are you back and when will you be available for work? XX Kim
Thanks for that - good to know that you've had a positive experience of what FT can achieve, and hope you won't suffer too much culture shock when you get back and find no litter whatsoever on the streets of Hackney and Tower Hamlets (joking!)
Owen
(TH FT Group)
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