October Celebrates Fair Trade Month and Co-op Month
As we keep a healthy distance from each other, we hang on to those threads that connect us—access to good food, a sense of community, and an inspiration to be stronger together. In our recent newsletter, Around the Table, we featured stories of some co-ops and fair-trade companies that inspire us with their work.
From Equal Exchange—one of our suppliers that is also a co-op—we learned how co-ops show resilience as the pandemic goes on:
Equal Exchange works with farmer co-ops in over 20 countries, and our model is to actively seek and partner with marginalized farming communities. These remote communities face significant challenges during the best of times. During a pandemic, the challenges become more acute. We intentionally work with farmers who have organized themselves into democratically-run cooperatives….
Unlike traditional trade of international goods, a large portion of our products move through a co-op supply chain: from farmer co-op at source to Equal Exchange (we are a worker-owned co-op) to about 200 food co-op stores in the U.S. (most of which are consumer-owned co-ops, with a few being hybrid models including workers and consumers)…. The co-op supply chains are living examples of how trading based on respectful, long-term relationships and good environmental and social values are not just philosophically sound, but also create reliable and sound business.
Another story in our newsletter features our friends in Olympia who founded Alaffia, a company with a mission. Alaffia is a story of love and commitment:
Olowo-n’djo Tchala and Prairie Rose Hyde fell in love in 1996 while she was serving as a Peace Core volunteer in Kaboli, Togo, in West Africa. Believing they could make a difference in the world, they moved to Prairie Rose’s home state of Washington and founded Alaffia to make ethically and regeneratively produced hair and skin care products. But that was just the first step in their mission to invest in a more equitable future. “Together, we’re cultivating beauty, equality, and empowerment in West Africa and around the globe.”
You can also check out a story on how the Federation of Southern Cooperatives has been supporting Black farmers and small southern communities for over fifty years:
It’s difficult to encapsulate what the Federation does in a single sentence, but basically, it works to protect small farmers and their land as well as promote community self-sufficiency. Broadly, this is accomplished through developing and sustaining cooperatives and credit unions; providing financial and legal support; conducting training and research; and advocating for public policies that help small farmers and rural communities.
Read the whole story here in the Fall Issue of Around the Table
