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Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegations
The LRC's third Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegation returned from Nicaragua on February 20, 2010. View "Nicaragua: A Land of Paradoxes/ Un Pais de Paradojas" from the April issue of Latino New York, an illustrated essay by Maureen Casey, International Project Coordinator. See also an essay about the trip, "Help bring children out FROM THE DUMPS" [PDF version here] by Lee Cutler published in the March 4 issue of New York Teacher.
We are sad to report that the Eyewitness Fair Trade delegation to the Dominican Republic scheduled for June 2010 has been canceled due to low enrollment numbers and increasing expenses. We are happy to report that any interested folks can be accommodated into another delegation planned for August by the group Friends Beyond Borders. Based in New Jersey, Friends Beyond Borders has been bringing delegations of teachers (and others) to the Dominican Republic for education and action for social justice. This summer's trip is their fourth. Dates are August 8 - 15, 2010. For more information: www.friendsbeyondborders.net or maureenc@labor-religion.org.
The preliminary materials that participants receive before traveling with the Coalition help them to better understand what they experience. Before the 2010 Nicaragua trip, International Project Coordinator Maureen Casey recommended two Web sites "to unravel the mysteries of coffee from plant to cup"— The Coffee FAQ and coffeeresearch.org, a comprehensive education site with sections on brewing, roasting, coffee agriculture, coffee science, coffee politics and coffee markets. For more about the Nicaragua delegation, see the tentative daily schedule [PDF]. from the 2010 trip and also our Feb. 8, 2010 news release:"Students & teachers travel to Nicaragua to learn about Fair Trade" [PDF] The group of 18 included six students and five teachers on their school vacation.
Like the Fair Trade Project itself, the idea for an Eyewitness Delegation evolved from the Coalition's experience leading Border Witness trips to the U.S./ Mexico Border where the human and environmental costs of corporate globalization are clearly visible. Participants in a Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegation will see an economic model which places people before profits. Click here for background information about Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegations. Please sign up quickly for the Feb. 19-26, 2010 delegation. Space is limited.
Several teachers beginning their summer away from the classroom were part of the Labor-Religion Coalition's 2009 delegation to Nicaragua. A stirring First Person essay, "Why are you sweeping?" [PDF] by participant Kathleen L. Martin was published in the Oct. 15, 2009 issue of New York Teacher.
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MEET coffee farmers and other amazing people COST: $2,000* (includes airfare) Includes round-trip air transportation from Newark, NJ Liberty Airport to Managua, all in-country transportation, housing, food, guides, donations to hosts and families, translation, entry fees and preparatory materials and travel insurance. * A $200 non-refundable deposit is due with your application to hold your space. The delegation is organized by the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State. For more information, call Maureen Casey, International Project Coordinator at 518/ 213-6000, ext. 6294 or click here to send an email message. |
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AN EYEWITNESS DELEGATION SNAPSHOT, JANUARY 12, 2009
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| To pick this bag of coffee beans, six inexperienced delegation members spent more than an hour! Usually, one person picks five times this amount in a day. A full bag weighs more than 100 pounds. Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegation members shown here are Jordan Wells, Nancy Close, Veronica Foley, Maureen Casey and Gloria Herman. |
© Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
