Our 100-Ton Challenge

“Thanks to God and Equal Exchange, we will not die of hunger, we will not lose our land, and our children are able to attend school. I want to thank all of the people that purchase our coffee. It is thanks to you that we have a seed of hope in our lives.”

Jose Luis Castillo Vasquez,
Las Colinas, APECAFE Cooperative, EL Salvador

UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, has a challenge for us, starting on May 10, 2008 (World Fair Trade Day), and continuing to May 9, 2009: to buy 100 Tons of fairly traded products through the UMCOR Coffee Project. In 2007, United Methodists bought 68 tons of fairly-traded products through the Project.

A Better Life for Farmers

Farmers who live in rural or poor communities in countries like Latin America, Africa and Asia struggle to make ends meet and earn a decent living. Without affordable credit, many fall into debt and lack access to housing, education and healthcare. Fair trade offers small-scale farmers an opportunity to live a better life by obtaining a fair price for their crops. Farmers can afford to purchase land, build homes and provide a promising future for their children.

Fair Prices for Consumers

Conventional coffee harvesting is expensive and involves a chain of people from exporters, and brokers to food distributors. They come between the coffee farmer and the consumer—each taking their share of the coffee price. In this process, coffee farmers are left with little and often cannot cover ongoing production costs or living expenses. However, with fair trade practices, the middlemen are eliminated and farmers earn a better share to support their families while offering a fair price and certified organic products to the consumer.

What can we do at FUMC?

For several years, our church has been drinking Fair Trade Coffee at Fellowship times, and selling Fair Trade products: coffee, tea, chocolate, and cocoa. During that time, we have bought about $8,900.00 of fairly-traded goods, or about 1,977 pounds – almost a TON. How many tons can we buy in the next year?