Fair Grounds Newsletter from Cafe Campesino

888.532.4728 (tel)
229.924.2468 (tel)
229.389.4814 (fax)
(more contact info)

Celebrating Spring with a Whole New Look!
Newsletter Special: 10% Discount on March Orders
Producer Profile: Selva Negra, Chiapas, Mexico
Community Caravan
Quote of the Month
Past Issues of Fair Grounds

Yep, that's right... we're celebrating spring's arrival (a little early) with a brand-spankin' new website. It's got all the same great information and features all of our coffees and related products, but has a better interface and shopping cart (hooray!), which should make it even easier for you to buy Fair Trade! Check it out (and let us know what you think)... Also this month, we profile our friends at Selva Negra, the producer cooperative that brings us our Mexico Chiapas Full City coffee. We've also got a full slate of activities in our Community Caravan, including an update on Bill's latest travels (otherwise known as "Where in the World is Bill Harris?"). Whip up a batch of Irish Coffee muffins (this month's recipe), pour yourself a mug of Café Campesino goodness and read on...

(Back to Headlines)

This month, in honor of our new website rollout, we're offering readers of Fair Grounds a 10% discount on all orders placed between now and the end of March. When you go to check out, you will see a box to enter a coupon code - be sure to enter promotional code ccnw8 there to get your discount or give us the code if you are calling in your order. Please note that the newsletter special applies only to retail customers and cannot be combined with any other discount or promotional codes.

(Back to Headlines)

Maty suggested that we profile the producers of our Mexico Chiapas Full City, as the green beans are roasting beautifully. Maty describes the cup as sweet and smooth with hints of caramel aroma with a balanced body and lower acidity. Read more about our friends at Selva Negra below.

Based high in the mountains of northwestern Chiapas, the Federacion Selva Negra Zoque is a small cooperative of 180 members in the Black Forest (which is how Selva Negra translates into English) of Chiapas. Selva Negra is appropriately named — the mountains where their coffee grows are often covered by dark clouds that bring an unusually high level of rain to the area and help create excellent growing conditions. Formed in 1992, many members moved to the area after being displaced first by major dam projects in the area then by the volcanic eruption of El Chichonal.

These farmers are some of the few remaining native Zoque people. The culture in this area is quite different than other parts of Chiapas from which we purchase coffee — the coastal state of Tabasco heavily influences the area and there is an "old west" feeling in these small towns. After Selva Negra received their organic certification in 2005, Cooperative Coffees arranged to buy their first container of coffee for decaffeination. Now this coffee is also offered as one of Café Campesino's single origins from Chiapas, Mexico.

With assistance from Equiterre and CIDA in Canada, Selva Negra is building a model training facility for their members and others to learn organic farming techniques. The 3-acre test plot includes a chicken hatchery, worm composting beds, and an organic vegetable garden. Buildings are constructed using rammed earth building techniques. Coffee Kids helped a women's group associated with the cooperative launch a mushroom growing project now includes over 20 families. Each family can produce several hundred pounds of mushrooms for sale in local markets.

The producers are looking forward to completing their model organic garden facility and finding a warehouse for coffee storage.

(Back to Headlines)

During the weekend of February 15th through the 17th, Tripp, with family in tow, headed up to Washington, DC, for the 2008 Coffee Fest at the Washington, DC, Convention Center. We're extremely grateful to our friends (and Fair Grounds editors Lynn Nichols and Don Krüger) for taking the time to travel down from their wintry digs in Massachusetts to help Tripp serve up Café Campesino, talk Fair Trade, and help him promote Café Campesino to the throngs of coffee house owners and owners-to-be who attended the show. Thanks, Lynn & Don! [Lynn writes: Don and I had a blast at Coffee Fest — we met a lot of great people who are committed to Fair Trade as well as some who are just being introduced to the concept. And we got to hang out with Tripp (which was a trip in itself)... I just wish we had brought a camera!]

On February 21, 2008, our good friend Marty McDonald brought a surprise visitor by the roastery for a tour and a cup of coffee. Victor Green (if you thought former New York Jets player, you're right!) stopped by for a quick cup of coffee after a morning of meetings.

On February 28th, Bill and Abby took off for a two-day trip to visit the Coop Coffees warehouse in New Jersey. From there, Bill made a quick stop in Dalton, Georgia, for the 11th Annual Georgia Organics Conference (see below), followed by an even quicker visit to our friends at Harvest Moon in Canton, Georgia, to serve up samples of Café Campesino and to talk Fair Trade at their customer appreciation festivities. After that, Bill jetted off to Guatemala, where he is as you read this newsletter, for a week or so of producer visits. From Guatemala, Bill heads out to Colombia for more coffee work... stay tuned for exciting details from his trip.

On March 1st, Bill sat on a panel at the GA Organics 11th Annual Conference in Dalton, Georgia. Bill joined George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley, and Mikhiela Sherrod, Georgia Coordinator of the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative, for the Business and Marketing portion of the conference. They discussed the nuts and bolts of starting and running a co-op and shared the lessons they have learned running their respective organizations. Read more about Georgia Organics and this conference on the Georgia Organics website.

On March 1, the American Red Cross hosted a "There's No Place Like Home" themed benefit in Americus marking the one year anniversary of the F3 tornado that devastated Americus. Café Campesino donated all proceeds from the sale of our coffee (plus a matching amount of the total proceeds), to the American Red Cross. The event featured up-and-coming country singer Brent Cobb, along with other country and gospel performers. Thank you loyal Café Campesino friend, ally and caffeine madman Marty McDonald of State Farm Insurance for getting Café Campesino coffee flowing at what turned out to be a great event!

This Wednesday, March 5th, Tripp travels just up the road to Perry, Georgia, where he will put on a jacket and tie and participate in the One Georgia Entrepreneur Summit, hosted by Governor Sonny Perdue and the state's Small Business Coordinating Network. The summit is designed "to offer entrepreneur education to Georgia's economic developers, chambers of commerce, local official, tourism professionals, downtown leaders and others interested in fostering entrepreneur and small business development." Tripp is one of three Georgia business owners who will make presentations about their businesses as part of the summit's Adult Entrepreneur Panel.

March 8th — Happy Birthday to our own Rebecca Young!

On Thursday, March 13th, two of our friends from Koinonia, Emory Cortese and Bren Dubay, will bring a group of six interns to the roastery for a tour and a "Fair Trade 101" workshop.

The weekend of March 28th through the 30th, Bill, Tripp, and Tripp's son Hugh will journey to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Cooperative Coffees annual Executive Committee Retreat, hosted by our friends at Heine Brothers Coffee.

(Back to Headlines)

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush."

~ Doug Larson

(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
www.cafecampesino.com/category_s/2.htm
info@cafecampesino.com

Staff:
Chelsea Carter
Maty de Barrios
Marco de la Paz
Bill Harris
Lee Harris
Geoffrey Hennies
Karen Macario
Ciera Moreno
Tripp Pomeroy
Lily Royster
Rebecca Young

Fair Grounds is designed and delivered by:

Starstruck Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354

Contact Information:
Don Kruger
Lynn Nichols
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.

Remember, you are always welcome to visit our website at http://www.cafecampesino.com or our online store at www.cafecampesino.com/category_s/2.htm.