|
COFFEE
FOR PEACE WORKS WITH CORDILLERA'S COFFEE COUNCILS
Coffee For Peace
(CFP) has been working with the office of the Hon. Thomas A.
Killip, the Presidential Assistant in the Cordillera
Administrative Region (PA-CAR), in advancing Fair Trade
Principles among the coffee industry players in his region.
Dann Pantoja, CFP's Fair Trade Advocacy Director, met with Mr.
Killip last January 28, 2008 in his La Trinidad, Benguet office.
Responding
to a February 11, 2008 letter of invitation by Mr. Killip, CFP conducted a
training seminar on "Coffee Fair Trade and
Classification" for the members of the coffee councils in
Benguet and Mountain Province last February 18-22, 2008.
The training seminars were held in La Trinidad, Benguet and
Sagada, Mountain Province.
Richard Abellon, Jr., Chief of Staff of the PA-CAR, organized
the seminars and coordinated with various government and
non-government organizations that resulted in a well-attended
series of seminars. At various times, he also accompanied
and introduced CFP representatives to the coffee farmers and
stakeholders in the Cordillera Region.
Under the directive of the Hon. Thomas Killip, Richard Abellon
and his staff facilitated the organization of the Cordillera Regional Arabica Coffee Council (CRACC).
His wife, Christine Abellon, President of the New Benguet Chamber of
Commerce, took care of the many details in this budding regional
coffee industry movement. She and her group
of volunteers are actively supporting the PA-CAR's initiative in
organizing the CRACC.
For a year, Dann Pantoja has been visiting the Cordillera coffee
councils on a quarterly basis to compare notes with them
regarding the advancement and practice of Fair Trade in their
industry. He hopes that these endeavors would help build a foundation
towards a mutually beneficial partnership between the CFP and
the newly-organized CRACC. Joji Pantoja, CFP's Business
Director, have started coordinating with Christine Abellon about
a move to upgrade the quality of Cordillera's coffee production
processes in accordance with global standards.
Along with the coffee growers in Mindanao, CFP will journey the
road to peace and justice with the coffee farmers of the
Cordilleras. We hope to see the coffee farmers in this
beautiful archipelago become self-determining partners for a
better world.
|
SIBULAN
COFFEE FARMERS WELCOME COFFEE FOR PEACE
Coffee For Peace
is feeling the need to increase our supply of coffee
beans. Because we're committed to serve fair-traded coffee only,
we have to explore direct growers in Mindanao.
Through the introduction of a local spiritual leader, we met a group of
farmers in Barangay Sibulan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. These
coffee farmers belong to the Bagobo Tribe, one of the Indigenous Peoples
of Mindanao or Lumad.
According to their leaders, their hard work is not compensated well by
the local merchants who currently buy their coffee at a very low price.
This group of coffee growers has been looking for bulk buyers who would
pay them justly.
When their spiritual leaders told their stories to us, we requested to
set-up a meeting with them. We drove through rugged terrains.
We hiked some trails.
The gathering in front of a humble home on a mountain plateau was very
memorable and meaningful. We listened to each family's journey.
We heard their struggles.
We learned a lot!
That's when we decided to propose a partnership.
We left the Bagobos of Sibulan with so much faith in their sincerity and
capability to supply us with fair-traded coffee.
|
