Chapter 29 - Fairer than Fair Trade

Colleen Arendt

Synopsis

Molly, an avid coffee drinker, heads to Guatemala for a spring break service trip. She meets De La Gente, an NGO that has helped transform communities through their model of direct trade coffee. Molly sees how this model creates a ripple effect through the community and changes how she thinks about her coffee consumption.

Keywords: Direct Trade, Fair Trade, Coffee, Development, NGOs, Sustainability

Key Takeaways and Take a Stand Form

Key Takeaways

  1. Global coffee trade perpetuates a cycle of poverty.
  2. Fair trade isn’t the panacea people think it is.
  3. There is a way for NGOs to work collaboratively and transparently with the communities in which they work.
  4. How increased profits for the farmers can stimulate a local economy.
  5. DLG’s unique model of generating their own revenue from tourism and service trips instead of taking any profits from the coffee sales.

Take a Stand Form