Fair Trade
Cesar Gonzales, fair trade coffee farmer and Vice President of WCCN's partner agency CECOCAFEN. CECOCAFEN is a second tier Nicaraguan coffee cooperative dedicated to improving the lives of small-scale farmers by selling high-quality coffee on the international fair trade market. Video by Michael Kientz
Today's capitalistic markets do not provide equitable trading for many of those living in poverty in developing countries. In other words, free trade is not fair trade.
At WCCN, we believe, small-scale famers who grow their products in an environmentally sustainable manner should receive a price that covers their cost of production and allows families to live with dignity.
WCCN works with partner agencies to provide a fair price for products made from the working poor in Latin America. We also help small-scale coffee farmers increase their income and access to international fair trade markets by lending to coffee cooperatives. Coffee cooperatives organized by small-scale farmers often lack the cash to purchase their members' coffee harvest. When this happens, farmers often sell to independent buyers--for a lower price--or wait months for the cooperative to process, sell, and export their crops before receiving payment for the crops. Waiting for payment often causes undue hardship on small-scale farmers living at subsistence levels. By providing short-term loans to coffee cooperatives at the time of harvest, WCCN can facilitate small-scale farmers receiving a fair price for their coffee.
Invest in WCCN to help Latin Amercian farmers receive a fair price for their crops.