Fair trade aims at fair deal for poor farmers
Two local Catholics have been appointed by Catholic Relief Services to be fair trade ambassadors for the organization’s initiative to promote sustainable, financially beneficial markets for poor farmers.
The two are Patricia Ribeiro of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns and Mick Smith of St. Patrick Parish in Larkspur.
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to address poverty in the developing world. Through fair trade, marginalized and impoverished laborers, particularly those involved in agriculture or crafts, sell directly to markets in developed countries at a fair price.
The CRS program focuses on coffee, chocolate and handcrafts. CRS is the international relief agency of the United States bishops.
Ribeiro told Catholic San Francisco she and Smith will try to get the word out about using fair trade products both at the Pastoral Center and in parishes. Right now the local program is focusing on coffee, but Ribeiro looks to expand to other areas.
The initial effort will be to persuade the Pastoral Center to switch to fair trade coffee. Ribeiro plans a coffee tasting for the second week of September to showcase the product. Later, she will reach out to parish social justice groups to promote the use of fair trade products.
Ribeiro said the effort is important for struggling farmers. “A lot of farmers who are certified as fair trade can’t sell their goods because the market for fair trade isn’t big enough,” she said, adding that the CRS effort aims to change that.
Smith said fair trade is a matter of economic justice.
“Half the world lives on under $2 per day,” Smith said. “Half of that number lives on under $1 per day. Many don’t even live in proper houses. Fair trade means they can send their children to school, and they can have food.”
Smith, who is in his first year of a diaconate program, said his faith is the major driving force behind his desire to promote fair trade.
“Either you choose to step in or you choose to step away,” he said. “We really need to affect the people who need the help.”
One local parish has already jumped on the fair trade bandwagon. Father Ken Weare of St. Rita Parish in Fairfax said the church has been promoting fair trade coffee for seven years, longer than he has been with the parish.
St. Rita’s offers three kinds of fair trade coffee: a dark roast whole bean, a regular roast whole bean and ground coffee. All come in special bags that Father Weare said are gifts in themselves.
The coffee comes from Mayan farmers in Western Guatemala, near San Lucas Tolimán. Father Weare said the parish became involved with fair trade through the mission projects St. Rita’s has in the country.
The priest said the coffee, which the parish also uses in its rectory, for meetings and for school functions, has a two-fold benefit.
“The simple peasant people growing coffee can financially benefit, so there is a specific financial contribution to the people of Guatemala,” the priest said. “People in the United States become conscious of the plight of the farmers. So there is a financial advantage for the poor of Guatemala and an educational advantage for Americans.”
For more information, visit www.crsfairtrade.org.
By Michael Vick
