• Newsletter Special - BRAG Brew 10% off
• Recipe of the Month
• Producer Profile - MICHIZA (Mexico)
• Feature Article - Bike Ride Across Georgia
• Customer Spotlight - Farmers Fresh CSA
• Fair Trade Futures Conference
• Community Caravan
• Quote of the Month

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of Fair Grounds. Fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee via Cafe Campesino (and Sweetwater) continues to be an uplifting experience for us, our communities, and our coffee producing partners and we certainly couldn't do it without your help. To our customers and supporters far and wide, a perpetual thank you for that support. And for those of you that are closer to our home territory of Georgia, specifically in the Atlanta metro area, we take opportunity to invite you to our venue, Cafe Campesino Atlanta, at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. The curb market provides fresh, local groceries from a variety of vendors to the downtown neighborhood in which its located. And we're glad to be there to offer fresh, Georgia-roasted coffee by the cup, coffee by the pound, and delicious prepared foods in our cozy cafe setting that includes an outdoor patio. If you haven't visited yet, we invite you to stop in and say hi to Angelica, Almeda, Nema, and Maria. Their smiling faces and can-do attitudes are worth the visit. The market is located at 209 Edgewood Ave. SE and is but a hop, skip, and a jump from I-75 (exit 248B) for those traveling through the area. Check out the Cafe Campesino Atlanta website for hours and info. And check out this month's Community Caravan for more CC-Atlanta happenings. Couple of notes to mention: 1) The Fair Trade Futures Conference early registration deadline has been extended to April 18th. See article for more details about this informative and fun event. 2) The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is April 22nd. Celebrate by conserving, caring, and considering that EVERY day should be Earth Day! And now, on with the April Fair Grounds. Thanks for reading.

Racing for New Orleans

Café Campesino's Bill Harris (and his bike) are headed to New Orleans in a few days to take part in the 70.3 IronMan competition. Bill is part of Team Enduring Hope and will be biking 56 miles in the half triathlon. The team is going all out in this event to raise funds and awareness for the post-Katrina New Orleans. Much work is still needed to rebuild the places and lives that were upended by the August 2005 hurricane and all funds raised by Team Enduring Hope will go to our friends at Contemplatives in Action who continue to work and serve in the community that they love and live in. Their work to help rebuild structures and lives has been inspirational to us and therefore deserves our support. If you'd like to help sponsor the team, go to cafecampesino.com/donate.asp and enter your pledge.

Best wishes to Bill and the rest of the team. Note that Bill is returning to New Orleans for the first time since Katrina wiped out the entire coffee inventory of Cooperative Coffees. That was certainly an emotional time in CC's history. Here's hoping that emotion helps fuel the athletes as they compete and raise funds.

BRAG Brew - 10% Off

Ever tried our BRAG Brew? Well, you should. Its a delicious blend of Mexican, Sumatran, and Nicaraguan coffees that is certainly a crowd pleaser. Just ask the thousands of folks who drink it daily during the annual Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) events that we participate in. Order some this month at 10% off. Use the discount code BRAG at checkout or when you phone in your order. Offer good through April 27th. Shop Now..

*Please note that this discount applies only to retail orders and cannot be combined with any other discounts or special offers.

(Back to Headlines)

Café Campesino Shake

A tasty, tempting, make-at-home recipe from our baristas at the Cafe Campesino Atlanta coffee house.

Ingredients:

5 scoops or 1.5 cups of your favorite vanilla ice cream
3 tablespoons of chocolate sauce (fair trade, of course)
2 tablespoons of almond syrup or 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
2 shots of espresso or 1/4 cup of strongly brewed coffee (Cafe Campesino, of course)
dash of cinnamon to taste

Directions:

Blend all ingredients together in a blender.
Pour into a 16 oz glass.
Garnish with whipped cream and a little more sprinkled cinnamon.

(Back to Headlines)

MICHIZA (Oaxaca region of Mexico) Cooperative: Yeni Navan

(Editor's note: You may have noticed that our Mexican coffee now carries the name Oaxaca rather than the perhaps more familiar Chiapas. In our efforts to support more coffee farmer cooperatives that share our fair trade, organic values, we now offer two regional varieties of coffee from Mexico - Chiapas for about half of the year and Oaxaca for the other half of the year.)

• Founded in 1985
• 1033 members, of which 321 are women (2008). This represents 1% of farmers in Oaxaca region
• First international exports occurred in 1989
• Present in 43 communities
• Coffee is Organic Certified by NATURLAND, Germany
• The English translation of Yeni Navan is "permanent sunrise"

Yeni Navan began as a small organization linking coffee producers from various ethnic groups in the regions around Oaxaca. The name MICHIZA is an abbreviation of these five indigenous groups: Mixtecos, Chinantecos, Chatinos, Cuicatecos and Zapotecos. The coop was formed in order to eliminate the local intermediaries, known as coyotes in Spanish, who are notorious for exploiting coffee farmers in the process of pricing and exporting their coffee.

MICHIZA (Oaxaca region of Mexico) Cooperative: Yeni Navan

Initially, MICHIZA's coffee was sold only to the local market. But by 1989, the organization obtained legal status under the name Yeni Navan and gained the legal capacity to export internationally through an exporter. By 1991, they started exporting independently.

MICHIZA offers technical support to its members to improve their capacity in organic agriculture and overall coffee quality and yields. MICHIZA is also responsible for marketing and the direct export of their members' coffee. As an organization, they aim to include women's participation in their decision-making, the impact of which is noted in the number of women who are members. In 2008, members discussed the formation of a Women's Commitee in order to develop projects better adapted to their needs.

The cooperative holds regular meetings (every two months) at their offices in the state's capital. A delegate from each community attends the meetings, some traveling up to 6 hours to get to the capital from their local region. Topics covered in the meetings range from administrative business to current and potential developmental projects on the go.

The main objective of Yeni Navan is to raise the living standard of its partners and family through a sustainable agriculture and the construction of a fairer and more equitable market. The members of the cooperative have a diversified production model and also produce oranges, corn, beans, and sugar cane.

(Back to Headlines)

Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG)

Cafe Campesino will this year again be serving Fair Trade Organic Coffee to the Bike Ride Across Georgia. The story of Cafe Campesino's participation at BRAG is often requested in the portable coffeehouse that we have set up in close to 100 different cities across Georgia through the years.

Every year, the week long bike ride chooses a different route, and in 1999, Bill Harris, founder of the then very young Cafe Campesino, heard that the ride would be stopping in our hometown of Americus. Bill contacted the ride director, Jerry Colley, to find out if Cafe Campesino could serve coffee to the riders as they came through town. The timing couldn't have been better as that year there was a need of good coffee for the ride. Jerry encouraged Bill to serve Café Campesino coffee each and every morning. Bill, who himself is a biker, got excited but realized he wouldn't be able to ride, brew coffee, and manage his new business by phone on his own. So he asked his new friend, Geoffrey, if he would be willing to come along to help. Neither one had any idea what they were getting themselves into!

They packed up as many coffee brewers as they could find, extension cords, serving containers, and whatever else they thought they might need into Bill's Ford Explorer and headed off to the start of the ride. The plan was (and still is) to offer a week-long ticket good for all the coffee you can drink every morning of the event. A 7-day bottomless cup of coffee. Brilliant and convenient. Another good idea: Bill had some handmade Guatemalan bracelets that were given out to identify those that were all paid up for the week. Fun stuff.

That first year was a bit rocky, especially with the electric brewers plugged into a variety of unusual locations along with extension cords running everywhere, but we pulled it off, and everyone had their fill of fresh brewed, fair trade, organic coffee each day. Bill even managed to ride one day. Geoffrey remembers well the day Bill was sitting on his bike, in all the proper attire, taking phone calls about international coffee purchases just before riding off with the rest of the riders.

Seems that the smell of fresh brewed coffee in the morning at camp was a big hit, and each year more and more riders signed up and tied on the colorful bracelet. One of our helpers, Victoria from Manchester UK, was a highlight and we keep working to convince her to come help again as it has never been the same without her.

Another idea that proved effective: Rather than throwing out the extra coffee from the morning shift, we decided to cool down the coffee and make iced mochas in the afternoons. Holy milk cow, was that a hit! Now we have to brew extra coffee every day to quench the thirst of riders after completing their daily journey. We have taken to serving them up regularly in the portable coffeehouse, often complemented with music (sometimes live; thanks Scott, Alan, and some other talented riders), and many great conversations. One couple even got to know each other while hanging out at the coffee house and the next year came back to hang out as a married couple.

We look forward to serving coffee at the BRAG Spring Tune-up on April 16-18, an annual warm-up ride this year in Madison, Georgia, and again in the fall (October) for Bikefest in Tifton. The big ride will this year be a loop ride beginning and ending south of Atlanta in Fayette, stopping off in Newnan, LaGrange, Columbus, Thomaston, and Griffin. The dates of the ride are June 5-12. Word is there are still spots available in all three rides, so be sure to get signed up before May 1st to save $30. You will have a fun filled week, meet the fantastic crew that organizes the event, feel great about your accomplishment, and of course don't worry about having great coffee, just stumble out of your tent, or out from the indoor camping and follow your nose to fill your cup with Fair Trade Organic Cafe Campesino coffee! Hope to see you there.

(Back to Headlines)

Farmers Fresh CSA

Last month, we featured our friends at Nature's Garden Delivered, a cooperative food delivery service in the Atlanta metro. This month, we're proud to tell you of another partner in the "slow food, buy local" movement that continues to grow here in Georgia thanks to the efforts of Community Supported Agriculture groups like this one.

Farmers Fresh CSA is based in Carrollton, GA (west of Atlanta) and they have been doing some wonderful things to expand food options for folks in their region. Their ever-expanding online market complements their traditional CSA program to include not only the freshest and most nutritious produce but also egg, bread, meat, seafood, and cheese options.

They now have more than 25 drop-off sites to choose from to receive a regularly scheduled delivery of goodies. See the entire list of pickup points here and if all goes as planned, they're almost ready to announce the grand opening of a brick and mortar storefront in Carrollton. It's sure to be a big hit. Check out their website for more details or drop them an email or a phone call to learn more. Support local farmers and healthy foods. It's good for everyone!

(Back to Headlines)

Fair Trade Futures Conference

(Note: Early registration deadline for the FTF Conference has been extended to April 18th so there's still time to register AND save money)

One of our Peruvian trading partners, CEPICAFE, is a featured speaker at the upcoming Fair Trade Futures conference that will bring together entrepreneurs, students, activists, and Fair Trade supporters from around the world Sept. 10-12, in Boston.

Santiago Paz, founder of CEPICAFE, the coffee, cocoa, fruit, and sugar cane-producing cooperative in northeast Peru that is one of Café Campesino's trading partners, is scheduled to speak at the conference that brings together trading partners and organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, Equal Exchange, Green America, Oxfam, Ten Thousand Villages and of, course, Café Campesino and Cooperative Coffees to collaborate on some of the most pressing issues in the Fair Trade movement. It is also an opportunity to plan for the future.

"We have tremendous power to transform our global community and hope that the conference will help people understand how to best harness that energy," said Carmen K. Iezzi, the executive director of Fair Trade Federation that is helping to organize the conference. Ms. Iezzi also noted that she was "delighted" the conference would "bring together the different parts of the Fair Trade Community.

In addition to Mr. Paz, other scheduled conference speakers include Kevin Danaher, co-founder and public education director of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based non-profit and advocacy group and Safia Minney, founder of People Tree, a Fair Trade and environmental fashion label.

Panels of other expert speakers during the conference will address the following topics: "Is Certification Compatible with Fair Trade?"; "Value vs. Volume: Different Theories of Change in Fair Trade"; "Does Fair Trade Deliver on its Promise?"; and "What is the Future of Fair Trade?"

Learn more about conference speakers, schedules, and how to register online at fairtradeconference.ning.com.

(Back to Headlines)

(Editor's note: As we continue to grow and expand this venture, we hope to keep all of our readers as informed as possible of the many happenings at Cafe Campesino in Americus, Cafe Campesino Atlanta, and Sweetwater Organic Coffee in Gainesville, FL. Be on the lookout for news & events from all three locations.)

Café Campesino Atlanta April 1-31: Café Campesino Atlanta celebrates Earth Day all month! Customers get $.75 coffee if they bring in their reusable mugs!

March 17- Café Campesino Atlanta welcomed 15 attendees to "The Whats, Whys, and Hows of Organic Eating," Café Campesino's first organics & healthy eating seminar that we put on in collaboration with Green City Market, a new vendor in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market that sells fresh, local and organic foods. Learn more about Green City Market and our joint programs with them on Facebook here: http://ldw.me/gcm.

March 19-21- Café Campesino was at the ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon in Atlanta! (no, we didn't run!) We sampled coffee in the Georgia Dome on March 19 & 20, when 17,000 runners and their families stopped in to pick up their numbers and informational packets. Then, on Sunday, we supplied nearly 400 volunteers and attendees with Café Campesino coffee. It was a fantastic event, and we congratulate all of the participants who ran the marathon (26.2 miles) & the half-marathon (13.1 miles)!

March 26- Café Campesino Atlanta participated in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market's first Urban Picnic that offered food cards and delicious goodies to about 200 attendees at lunchtime. Fresh, local and tasty were the themes of this urban picnic that featured a combination of food trucks and local vendors including Athens' Farm Cart, that was launched by farm-to-table restaurant Farm 255, and a truck from Buckhead's lunchtime super-star, Souper Jenny. The event that was attended by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and supported by Slow Food Atlanta and Georgia Organics was also meant to promote an effort to revise Atlanta legislation restricting food vendors from selling on Atlanta streets. Learn more about that effort at www.atlantastreetfood.com/p/news.html. Also, stay tuned for regular Urban Picnics at the Curb Market...

March 27- Café Campesino Atlanta welcomed volunteers from Centennial Olympic Park to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market for a breakfast and scavenger hunt! Located less than 1 mile from our Atlanta coffee shop, Centennial Olympic Park is a 21-acre green space in downtown Atlanta created as a central gathering space when Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games in 1996. Volunteers who help direct the thousands of visitors who come to the park every year, were hosted at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market for an appreciation day. A special thanks to the following Curb Market vendors who helped put on the Breakfast and Scavenger Hunt: Bargain Books, Country Produce, Green City Market, Grindhouse Burgers, Metro Deli & Soul Food, Pocketbook City, Smoothie Blender, Pizza Hut and Sweet Auburn Bakery.

Nema Etheridge, of Cafe Campesino Atlanta, shows off our coffee display at Emory University. Thank you, Nema, for your outstanding efforts to promote fair trade, organic coffees. Another job well done.

Headline

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist."
- Archbishop Dom Helder Camara [1909-1999]

(Back to Headlines)

Fair Grounds is produced by:

Café Campesino
725 Spring Street
Americus, GA 31709

Contact Information:

Orders and General Information
Phone - 888.532.4728, 229.924.2468
Fax - 229.389.4814
http://www.cafecampesino.com
info@cafecampesino.com

Staff:
Nancy Aparicio
Dave Campbell
Rusty Cheek
Marco de la Paz
Nema Etheridge
Jason Foster
Bill Harris
Geoffrey Hennies
Joe Johnston
Jaimie Minich
Tripp Pomeroy
Tyler Willis
Rebecca Young

You are receiving your Fair Grounds e-newsletter because you told us you wanted to get it, or a good friend of yours suggested to us that you would like to get it. If you like it, let us know. If you want to suggest ways that we can make it better, let us know. Our e-mail is info@cafecampesino.com

If you would like to unsubscribe to the Fair Grounds E-Newsletter simply use the convenient link in the footer (at the bottom) of this newsletter.

Remember, you are always welcome to visit our website at http://www.cafecampesino.com