Javatrekker's Journal: Our Blog
How One Small Nicaraguan Community Fights Climate Change
How One Small Community Fights Climate Change The last three years were the hottest on record worldwide. Climate change is real and it is here. I see the terrible impacts...
Update from Ethiopia
Supporting Life in a Country in Crisis As activists and development workers in the coffeelands it is sometimes hard to keep focused on the good things amidst so many problems....
2015 Year At A Glance
2015 started with a new website that was so poorly designed that we actually lost ground for the first time in twenty-two years! Sorry about that, folks, but we spent...
Updates from the Field 2014
There were a lot of ups and downs this past year, as coffee price fluctuations and the Roya (fungal rust) epidemic hit our partners hard, especially throughout the Americas. Fortunately,...
Spice Island Saga: Bringing Fair Trade to the Birthplace of Globalization
There was a time when the Spice Islands – a sprinkling of small islands at the arse end of the Indonesian archipelago – was the most valued real estate in...
Timor Update: Health, Education and Quality Coffee
Several years ago we worked with Cooperative Café Timor to create the first Direct Trade relationship in Timor, with the village of Atsabe. While everyone else, from Starbux to Equal...
Return to Sumatra
A wise old woman (ex-Mother-In-Law, actually!) once counseled me: “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” That’s true enough regarding most corporate claims of sustainability,...
Year in Review 2013
Deeper and deeper we go! Looking back over 2013, I can't believe how deeply we went into our work in the coffeelands. Between me, Michael, Vic, Heather and a slew...
Ups and Downs in Peru
Vic and Michael have just returned from Peru after a week visiting with the Oro Verde cooperative. The goal of the trip was to help the Coop set up their...
Visit from Hildebrando Cardenas
Last week we had the pleasure of receiving Hildebrando Cardenas, the General Manager of the Oro Verde Cooperative in Peru. He just so happened to arrive on the same day...
The adventures of a Javatrekking Intern
At the Pitzer College graduation in May, senior Emma G. asked me if there was anything she could do to work with some of our farmers. Careful what you ask...
Small Farmer's Exchange
The deadline to sign up for the trip is December 1st! (SIGN UP NOW CLOSED) In July, Dean's Beans led our first Social X Change with 12 of our customers...