Fair Trade Los Angeles

The fair trade event last night was a yummy one — with chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and a v. informative talk and Q&A with Pascual Ataulfo Moreno, from the coffee cooperative CESMACH (PDF) in Chiapas, Mexico.

We had a crowd of mostly USC students — many of them from SCALE — the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation

The general talk — given by Pascual, translated by Jean from TransFair USA — presented a basic history of the farmers in Pascual’s community. After many years of basically working for middlemen — called coyotes — who rarely gave the farmers a good deal for their coffee, the farmers decided to get organized, forming the co-op in 1994. They first got organic certified, then received their fair trade certification in 1996.

Because fair trade let the co-op bypass the intermediaries to export directly to international buyers, the farmers have been able to escape a cycle of debt and improve their standards of living.

In fact, the co-op’s now has a special fund, giving zero interest loans to members that can be paid back in coffee when the crop is harvested. No more bad loan deals!

Fair labor’s a national issue as well as an international one! Students at USC are working to push the school administration to offer only sweatshop-free clothes at campus stores.

Want to help? Attend the Sweatshop Theatre Performance at USC!

When: Thursday, October 12, 2006, 12 pm – 1 pm
Where: USC, Tommy Trojan (intersection of Trousdale Pkwy and Child’s Wy)

The event’s intended to give students an understanding of the working conditions in which their apparel is produced as well as the factory monitors put in charge of regulating those conditions.

The event’s put on by SCALE, The Student Coaliton Against Labor Exploitation at USC. Have questions? Contact David Romero at dromero@usc.edu or 909.753.2014.

The location for the Fair Trade Event and Farmer Visit on Oct. 23 has changed slightly. The event will still be on the USC campus, but it will now be in Taper Hall (THH), Room 212 — maps here.

Our calendar has been updated with the new location information. We hope to see you there!

Join Fair Trade Los Angeles and TransFair USA for an evening of fair trade fun, including a presentation from a fair trade farmer, Pascual Ataulfo Moreno Matias, Treasurer of the CESMACH coffee cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico.

When: Monday, October 23, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, CA 90089. The event will be held in Taper Hall (THH), Room 212 — maps here)

At the event, you’ll be able to network while sipping fair trade coffee and tea and nibbling fair trade chocolate, purchase sweatshop-free No Sweat clothing at a discount, hear a presentation by Pascual Ataulfo Moreno Matias, and write letters to elected officials asking them to support fair trade.