August 28, 2009
Posted by: nick @ 10:29 am
So Miguel’s talk was last night and it was great. Tripp and Miguel gave a wonderfully informative presentation on how co-ops and fair trade work on a ground level. A lot of people have already told me how much they learned about coffee production and how it really deepened their perspective on why fair trade is important. If you didn’t get a chance to swing by for the talk last night, have no fear; the talk was recorded and will be up on this site as well as the Facebook page hopefully by early next week.
In other Pascal happenings, tonight (8.28) Kelly McLarnon and Lauren Langston will be hosting their exhibit opening at the Study Center starting at 7pm. I’ve heard there will be some live music and some appetizers, so come by and check out their work.
August 21, 2009
Posted by: nick @ 5:39 pm
Thanks for checking out the new webpage for Pascal’s Coffeehouse and Gallery. Take a look around. You can subscribe to our blog feed by clicking the orange RSS button in the left hand column, become a fan on Facebook, or get the latest updates, specials, and news through our Twitter updates. We open the first day of classes (August 24) so stop in, grab a coffee, and see whats new. Also, be sure to check out the link at the top for our first Pascal’s program of the semester: a visit from La Chajulense’s Miguez Tzoy Tum to talk about the impacts of organic farming practices, fairly traded commodities, and the Guatemalan coffee business.
August 20, 2009
Posted by: nick @ 4:24 pm
Members: more than 8000 of which 15-20% are women
Cooperative’s Ethnic Composition: 80% Gayo, 15% Javanese, and 5% Others
Coffee: Typica
Coffee Characteristics: Sweet and earthy
Harvest Season: Oct. – June
Export Season: Nov. – Sept.
The cooperative has 8,000 members in villages throughout Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah around Lake Tawar. These members are organized at the village level into 123 groups, who sell to approximately 100 elected collectors. About 90% of the collectors are also farmers. The coop is structured so that each group of farmers elects a representative for the annual meeting; these representatives are not necessarily the same person as the collector. The chair of the coop is Rizwan Husin. He is a chartered accountant by training, though he also has his own 5ha coffee plot, and is currently serving his second two year term as chair of the coop. The coop shares an office with the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) in Takengon.
Continue reading »
