Fair Trade Coffee Tour With Tadesse Meskela From Ethiopia
Posted: April 1, 2003
Tadesse Meskela is a visionary 45-year-old coffee farmer
in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Raised in a farmer's
family, Tadesse's father was the first in their community
to send all of his 12 children to school. Tadesse is now
married with 4 children of his own. After experiencing the
misery of poverty, Tadesse is highly dedicated to improving
the lives of poor farmers.
In 1994, after participating in a cooperative training
in Japan for 2 months, Tadesse was inspired to unionize
cooperatives. At the time, he was a cooperative promotion
department senior expert responsible for cooperatives in
Oromia Agricultural bureau. Hoping to stop the farmers'
great monetary losses to middlemen and exporters, Tadesse
worked with the management and farmers of the cooperatives
as well as the Ethiopian government cooperative bureau to
form a strong union. By 1999, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative
Union (OCFCU) was established with 35 coffee cooperatives
and Tadesse was appointed the General manager, the first
of its kind in Ethiopia.
In 2001, eight cooperatives (7,107 members) of OCFCU became
Fair Trade certified. By selling their coffee to Fair Trade
markets in the US and Europe, co-op members use their Fair
Trade premiums to help fund education, health and credit
programs that their communities desperately need. Tadesse
speaks about the situation of coffee farmers in the global
economy and the benefits of Fair Trade. Tadesse is an experienced
presenter on the subject of coffee, sustainability and social
responsibility. He informs audiences about how choosing
to buy Fair Trade coffee is an easy thing people can do
to support economic fairness and empowerment for farmers
around the world. While coffee drinkers enjoy their cups
of hot java, many coffee farmers endure a difficult life
due to receiving prices for their harvest which keep them
in dire poverty.
To improve conditions for coffee farmers, under the "Fair
Trade Certified" label, coffee importers must pay a fair
price to farmers and work with democratically organized
cooperatives. Currently, groups across the US are organizing
to promote Fair Trade and to motivate their local retailers
to offer Fair Trade Certified coffee.
The tour will take place nationally from April 7th to April
22nd, 2003. For more information on hosting an event, contact
Valerie Orth at 415-558-6938 or valerie@globalexchange.org.
Tadesse Meskela Speaking Events
Mon Apr. 7 6:30-8:30 pm Santa Cruz 1817 Soquel Ave. Santa
Cruz, CA For more information: Colleen Crosby, colleen@santacruzcoffee.com,
Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. and Barrio Unidos There will
be sacred drumming, slides and discussion as well as Ethiopian
coffee and Mexican desserts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Tue Apr. 8 6:30-8:30 pm UC Berkeley Wurster Auditorium
(near Boalt Law School) Berkeley, CA For more information:
George, sfsapo@msn.com
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Wed Apr. 9 5:30-7:30 pm University of Washington School
of Social Work, Room 305 Seattle, WA For more information:
Jen Mullen, jfm@u.washington.edu,
UW Students for Fair Trade 12:30-1:30 p.m.- Brown Bag Lunch
Event with UW Administrators-- UW Husky Union Building (HUB)
room 310, on main campus. 3-4:00pm- "Meet Fair Trade Coffee
Farmer, Tadesse Meskela". Coffee sampling hour at Bulldog
News on University Ave near UW, on corner of 42nd and university
ave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Thu Apr. 10 7-8:30 pm Western Washington University Just
Java, the face behind Fair Trade Coffee Smate Lecture Hall
(On western?s campus Bellingham, WA For more information:
Colin McDonald, hellomcdonaled@planet-save.com,
Students for Fair Trade ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sat Apr. 12 10 am-5 pm Western State College Quigley Recital
Hall Gunnison, CO For more information: Shannon Kindle,
shannonk@gunnison.com,
Gunnison Valley Peace Initiative VITAL LINKS CONFERENCE
on Globalization, Fair Trade, War and Peace, and the Environment
Friday, April 11- Sunday, April 13 Confirmed speakers: Chris
Mahin, Corbin Harney, Joe Quandt, Tadesse Meskela, Diane
Wilson ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sun Apr. 13 Washburn University TBA Topeka, KA For more
information: Sara O'Keefe, grenola549@yahoo.com
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Mon Apr. 14 Lawrence University Appleton, WI For more information:
Laura Winterstein, laura.l.winterstein@lawrence.edu,
Greenfire (Lawrence University) ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Tue Apr. 15 Kent State Kent, OH For more information: Megan
Zimmerman, mlzimme1@kent.edu,
(330) 346-0211 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Thu Apr. 17 6:30-8:30 pm TBA Washington, D.C, Di 202-223-1966
(ext.132) For more information: TransAfrica Forum Contact
202-223-1966 (ext. 132) to reserve a seat or for more information
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Fri Apr. 18 Cornell University Ithaca, NY For more information:
Benjamin J Mantle, bjm29@cornell.edu,
Cornell Students Against Sweatshops ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sat Apr. 19 11 am-5 pm Bread and Roses Meeting Hall - Local
Union 1199 43rd St (b/w 8th and 9th Ave) one block from
Port Authority New York City, NY For more information: Louis
Fundora, louis.fundora@verizon.net,
Food Not Bombs and Jobs with Justice ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mon Apr. 21 7:30 pm Williams College Wege Auditorium Room
123 in the Chemistry building Williamstown, MA For more
information: Jocelyn.B.Gardner, Jocelyn.B.Gardner@williams.edu,
Greensense ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Tue Apr. 22 Brown University TBA Providence, RI For more
information: Eric Noble, eric_noble@brown.edu
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