Journeys with a cafetiere
From the Brighton & Hove Source, August 2007 edition:
After screening the moving ‘Black Gold’ documentary last month, the Duke of York’s on preston Circus has switched suppliers, to buy coffee directly from a Nicaraguan co-op. Not only are they among the fairest traderslocally but the new coffee is up there amongst the best we’ve tasted in Sussex.
This is a good introduction to the Nicaraguan coffee culture, and the dilemmas that farmers face in harvesting and producing good quality coffee. The film shows that Fairtrade has provided a safety net for a percentage of small farmers.
But for the many cooperatives in Nicaragua, the answer must lie in a direct relationship with consumers and a balance of negotiating power between the global South and North. This is the message of the movie Black Gold.
The original Arabica beans were found in Ethiopia. The stance of the Ethiopian government in demanding that Starbucks recognises the intellectual rights of their farmers matters to producers throughout the South. It’s welcome that Starbucks has responded to pressure and changed its strategy.
But as the Channel Four piece shows, Starbucks is only 2% of the major global players in the coffee industry.
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