World Wide Root System

There is a lot, a lot, of coffee in the world. For the 2011-2012 crop season, Bloomberg reports that farmers are harvesting 146 million bags. A bag? It weighs about 132 pounds. The math? That's 19,272,000,000. According to Global Exchange, there are 25 million farmers and workers in over 50 countries producing coffee.

Global Exchange also points out that as beans around the world make their way to the US, they often change hands via middlemen exporters (some have been given the name "coyote" because they can take advantage of small farmers). A lot of small farmers receive less money than it actually costs to cover production. Additionally, working conditions can be horrible, and over half don't receive minimum wages. Children are often taken to the fields to help their families meet picking quotas. These kinds of labor issues also play a role in the lives of women. They need to support their families and are often found without the skills or resources to avoid poverty and live sustainable lives.

This, is where the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA) comes into the picture. There are without a doubt many organizations with missions to help farmers who are struggling. IWCA is one of them and it focuses on creating a global network of women, and men, at all levels of the coffee industry to lift up those who are in need of help. The mission statement of IWCA:

Empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives; and to encourage and recognize the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry.

Within IWCA are many country chapters. Once such chapter that signed its Letter of Understanding with IWCA in April of 2011 is in Burundi. Part of their mission is to "fight discrimination and marginalization of women in the coffee growing community." 

You can see a video about how these efforts are helping to establish connections for women in coffee under the Women and Trade Program here

Coffee beans actually begin their journey as seeds that are planted and given that they are an agricultural commodity, they can be subject to any number of variables. Crops can change from year-to-year. Growing, harvesting and processing takes hard labor and is done by folks all around the world. As the raw beans make their way through the hands of middlemen (or through Fair Trade or through Direct Trade), they continue through a maze of destinations: export, import, transport to roaster and stored. How the beans are roasted and how they are ground and prepared involves their crossing even more hands and lives and livelihoods.  As the beans travel the channels from the ground to our cups, they connect us all through a world wide root system. Respect for the bean begins with respect for the people who grow them.

Brown Blood

Some claim that coffee is the #2 traded commodity right behind crude oil and some claim it's not #2, but is in the top 10. Either way, it's an impressive position to hold. Although I do come across some folks who don't drink coffee it's hard to argue that it does not touch most lives in some way shape or form.
From coffee growers, to harvesters, to processors, to coops, brokers, exporters, importers, roasters, cafes, baristas and more - coffee makes an impact on the world.

I can remember when the only way I could stomach coffee was to take in the form of a mocha, where the flavor of chocolate prevailed. When Starbuck's Coffee shops began to spring up in cities everywhere, I jumped on board. My standard drink became a triple-tall-no-fat-caramel-macchiato-one-pump-of-vanilla twice and sometimes thrice daily. Macchiato? I had no idea what I was ordering other than I knew it was a sweet treat with some sugar and caffeine.

A few years went by and one day by chance, I had a plain old cup of coffee from a little roaster in Oakland, CA. I found that I needed to add no milk and no sugar. This was the beginning of discovering coffee for what it could be. I began to research who was roasting what and trying a variety of bean types from different parts of the world. I also remember the first time I had an espresso that led to an epiphany. The little sip I took was creamy and then nutty with an actual burst of sweet lemon at the finish. I was hooked.

The next phase of discovering coffee has led my life down a new path. I learned a while ago that coffee is actually a seed, not a bean. It's an agricultural commodity grown by farmers who run operations from the small to the gigantic. Now that I have begun to question who plants, nurtures, harvests sells and sustains a livelihood from coffee, my eyes are opening to a new world. One aspect of the industry involves women who often participate in the labor intensive processing of coffee who receive very little  in return. Things like fair wages, decent housing or health care are not part of the equation. Many women (as well as men and children) are often left without a way to live sustainable lives.

There is no shortage of battles from which to choose to focus on when it comes to social justice. I can question where and under what conditions any number of products I purchase have come from and were made. My focus is on coffee as it is a commodity that touches the world. One portrayal of the harvest season recently caught my eye. It covers the thin months - a time when small coffee farmers must survive after they sell their raw coffee. A 6 minute version of the short film is here:

To see the full version you can visit here:
After the Harvest: The Fight Against Hunger in the Coffeelands: Watch