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Vol.4. NO.12......................................................Pages 10 and 11 Fair Trade Chocolate Abel
Fernandez, a cocoa farmer and representative of the
Conacado Cocoa Cooperative in La República Dominicana
spoke at UNM Wednesday, November 5th. He tells the story
of how 9,000 cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic are
creating a new economic reality, pulling themselves out
of poverty through fair trade. “Fifteen
years ago in the Dominican Republic, the cocoa market was
controlled by four big exporters,” Fernández says.
“They were the only ones who had access to the
international market of chocolate makers. The four
companies controlled the market and paid what they wanted
to the cocoa farmers. The cocoa farmers were desperate
because their annual income did not cover their basic
necessities”. He describes how the cocoa farmers
would take loans from the large exporters, “This
money is not exactly free. They pay high interest. This
money cannot be paid with money, but must be paid with
cocoa. Then, they are always in debt with the big guy.
And if the price of cocoa goes down they cannot meet
their own production costs.” Rising
out of this desperation, cocoa farmers formed the
Conacado Cocoa Cooperative in order to develop the
quality of their product and to gain direct access to the
international market. Together, they experimented and
discovered that fermenting the cocoa beans gave them an
especially fragrant aroma and rich flavor. They found
chocolate makers in the European market who paid more
than the market price for their cocoa beans. The
production of this special cocoa was soon taken up by
larger producers, but the cooperative was already one
step ahead of the competition. They developed an organic
cocoa production program and nearly 100% of their growers
were certified, giving them access to the growing organic
foods market. In
1995 they joined the Fair Trade system. The basic tenet
of Fair Trade is that producers should be paid a fair
price for the goods they produce. The Fair Trade
Labeling Organization International, which certifies Fair
Trade products, has a method for determining a fair price
for the whole chain of production. According to their
analysis, the minimum sustainable price for one ton of
cocoa is $1600 (approximately $600 above the market
price). This price is fixed, regardless of
fluctuations in the market price. In addition,
under Fair Trade rules, the cooperative receives a social
premium of $150 per ton from the chocolate makers who buy
the cocoa. This money is used democratically by the
cooperative to fund infrastructure, healthcare and
educational projects for the farmers and their families.
For instance, after Hurricane George swept through the
Dominican Republic in 1998, the cooperative used the
funds to rehabilitate their devastated farms. “To
choose fair trade” Fernandez says “is not only
to improve the living conditions of cocoa farmers in the
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Africa and many
other countries, but to guarantee that our organization
is always run democratically, that both women and men
will have the same opportunities, that children will not
be forced into labor and that the product will be
produced with total respect for the environment”.
The Conacado Cocoa Cooperative is a small revolution in
an era when free market fundamentalism has continued to
impoverish the poor and enrich the wealthy. The farmers
are standing up in the face of this economically unjust
system by producing a socially sustainable, quality
product and demanding a fair price. However, even with
its great strides forward, the cooperative makes up only
24% of the cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic and
the cooperative itself has to sell much of its product on
the conventional market. You can take part in this
economic revolution by making sure the chocolate you buy
bears the Fair Trade logo and demanding Fair Trade
chocolate at your local grocery store.
Products made with Conacado cocoa are also carried
by: Equal
Exchange www.equalexchange.com Dagoba
Organic Chocolate www.dagobachocolate.com Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters www.gmcr.com La
Siembra Cooperative www.lasiembra.com
New Words 2003 The
Washington Post’s Style Invitational once again
asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter
it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and
supply a new definition. Here are the 2003winners:
1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund,
which lasts until you realize it was your money to start
with.
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a
hillbilly.
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid
people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The
bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of
breaking down in the near future.
4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself
for the purpose of getting laid.
5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house,
which renders the subject financially impotent for an
indefinite period.
6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very
high.
7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of
sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when
you are running late.
9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one
got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It’s like, when everybody is
sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then,
like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious
bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting
through the day consuming only things that are good for
you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to
seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance
performed just after you’ve accidentally walked
through a spider web..
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito
that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and
cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after
finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.
18. And the pick of the literature: 19.
Ignoranus: A person who’s both stupid and an
asshole.
Critter Fixer Fund Dog and cat
over-population is at epidemic proportions in Rio Arriba
County. The Española Animal Shelter is operating
with the maximum capacity of animals. Cat & dog
adoptions are well below the number of pets that need
homes. Discarded homeless pets roam the
countryside, creating a public nuisance and danger to
children and other domestic animals. With
reproduction unchecked, still more keep coming. What can
be done? The
Española Animal Shelter conducts a low-cost clinic.
Regular fees for spay-neuter surgery ranges from $25-$55
and shots are $6 for Rio Arriba and Northern Santa Fe
County residents. Through generous donations from
individuals and organizations the Northern New Mexico
Animal Protection Society created the “CRITTER FIXER
FUND”. With this, the shelter’s clinic is
able to offer spay-neuter surgery for only $10 to those
who cannot afford the full price. Residents with
proof of government assistance may receive the surgery
for free. The “CRITTER FIXER FUND” is
available for a limited time as funding allows.
Appointments
are necessary and can be made by calling the Española
Animal Shelter at 753-8662. Help all animals have
the caring homes they deserve. Spay-Neuter!
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Inside This Issue About the Cover........ 3 Book Reviews............... 15 Baptist Dog 13 Critter Fixer Fund....... 11 Corny Red Neck Humor............... 15 Disorder in the American Courts....... 9 Fair Trade Chocolate 10 Final Word on Italian Cookies............... 14 Kudos to You and You and You.......... 5 Letters to the Editor..... 13 New Words 2003........ 11 North Central NM Events 3 Marriage Counseling 14 Movie Making in New Mexico..... 8 Oh, Shoot!.. 14 PEACE........ 5 Raw World is...Heaven on Earth.. 12 Screenwriting Tips From Larry....... 12 Southern California Artists Bring Joy of
Cartooning 7 Taking Over the World. 7 Theft of Police Badges Sparks Too Much of a Bad Thing 4 “We, The Screenwriters”...............
5 Wheat, The Whole Wheat, and Nothing But The
Heat.. 7 When They Say It’s Locally Grown, They
Mean It.... 3 Where to find The Sun-News........ 2 |
