888.532.4728 (tel)
229.924.2468 (tel)
229.924.6250 (fax)
 (more contact info)

Nothing reminds us of the importance of the work that we do like a visit with the farmers. While each cooperative has developed unique organizational structures and methods of operation – the message expressed to visiting fair trade partners is the same. The farmers of CECOCAFEN, COOCAFE, Maya Vinic, Mut Vitz, Apecaform and all of the other cooperatives that we support critically depend on fair trade partnerships in the face of unprecedented low coffee prices. We returned from our recent visit inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment which is so evident at each coop – even as the farmers enter the third year of the coffee crisis. We thank the readers of Fair Grounds for your continued support of Café Campesino. We exist because of you and your conscious decision to purchase fair trade coffee.

In this month's issue of Fair Grounds, Bill Harris reports on the first part of his recent excursion to the coffee lands, including meetings with some of the coffee cooperatives who benefit directly from the practice of Fair Trade. We've also got a recipe, a Fair Trade fact and a new trivia question. Read on, learn and enjoy…

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by Bill Harris

According to our Delta pilot, this was the coldest day to hit Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport since 1996. It was so cold that the "tug" wouldn’t start — so we sat at the gate. Then we received the disturbing news that the plane’s engines wouldn’t start. What a way to begin a 16 day whirlwind visit to the coffee lands of Central America and Mexico. I guess they managed to locate the jumper cables because we finally left the ground an hour behind schedule — first stop sunny Costa Rica.

Three hours later, after thumbing through my Berlitz "Spanish for Business" and watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" during our uneventful flight, I waited patiently for my green duffle bag. The good news: I had remembered to pack my toothbrush in my carry-on bag. The bad news: everything else was in the missing green duffle bag. So I filed the report — what else can you do? — and headed for the offices of COOCAFE.

More adventures are ahead by clicking here.
http://www.cafecampesino.com/fairgrounds/newsletters/
200302/bhadventure.html

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February is always a busy month for the us. Bill returned on the 10th from Guatemala, while Lee and Geoffrey headed north on the 12th to set up our booth and supply coffee for the Greenprints Conference, sponsored by our friends at Southface Energy Institute.

This weekend, February 22-23, we all head east for the annual Georgia Organics conference where we will share a booth with Kelli and Kristen of the Sentient Bean in Savannah.

Want to learn how to put your money to work for economic justice, or advocate for fair trade through your business, on campus, at church, or to your friends and family? Then join us at the annual Fair Trade Federation Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, March 29 - April 1, 2003. For details visit the Fair Trade Federation's website:
http://www.coopamerica.org/ftf/conference/index.html

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We're giving away coffee! 

Think you know a lot about coffee? Then enter our Fair Grounds Trivia Contest. Click here for our question of the month. Entering is easy and it's FUN!

With so many entries in our last trivia contest, our judges needed to find an especially large container to hold all of them. So they decided to use Bill's famous green duffle bag. And then the inevitable happened, the bag seemed to disappear. The judges looked everywhere for the green bag and even filed a "report". Just when all hope of finding the bag was lost, it mysteriously appeared in the shipping department of the roastery. The judges quickly reached into the bag and drew out the name of our contest winner. Dan Sanborn, you're our lucky winner. Congratulations!

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"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Fair Grounds is produced by:

Café Campesino
302 West Lamar Street
Suite C
Americus, GA 31709

Contact Information:

Orders and General Information
Phone - 888.532.4728, 229.924.2468 
Fax - 229.924.6250
http://www.cafecampesino.com
http://www.shopfairtrade.com
info@cafecampesino.com

Staff:
Marsha Freed
Lee Harris
Bill Harris
Rosemary Roberts

Fair Grounds is designed and delivered by:

Starstruck Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01376

Contact Information:
Don Kruger - don@cafecampesino.com
Lynn Nichols - lynn@cafecampesino.com
Phone - 413.863.7752
Fax - 413-863-7752
http://www.starstruckdesign.com

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 send a free subscription of Fair Grounds to a friend simply click here and send us your friend's e-mail address.
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If you would like to unsubscribe to the Fair Grounds E-Newsletter because:
- You may have more than one e-mail address on our list.
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- or any other reason
simply send an e-mail to:
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Remember, you are always welcome to visit our websites at http://www.cafecampesino.com and http://www.shopfairtrade.com.