WHY FAIR TRADE? WHY KAFE KISKEYA?

[Sarah]

Kafe Kiskeya was born as an answer to the call to help create a more just and peaceful world, by offering fairly traded art and coffee made in countries that have experienced oppression and strife. The artwork and coffee currently available is produced by individuals, some of whom friends of mine and I have met and spent time with. They live in Brasil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti and Mexico. These artisans and coffee farmers support their families with the income they are able to generate by selling their products to Westerners who can afford them. Sojourners Magazine reported in May 2007 that "fairly traded goods equal ethical consumerism; consumers using their buying power to challenge inequality. Producers get a fair return on a fair day's work. Not a handout, but respect; not exploitation, but genuine trade. It's good for the developing world, and it's good for us as a society, too."
Kafe Kiskeya signifies even more that this. Kiskeya is the Taino Indian name of the island where Haiti and Dominican Republic are located in the Caribbean Ocean; a place where my daughters and I have made dozens of trips over the past 15 years. Prior to Columbus "discovering" the island, renaming it Hispaniola, and initiating African slave trade, all of the inhabitants on that island lived in harmony with each other and with nature. Since then, an extreme divide has occurred between Haitians and Dominicans, much like the animosity felt between some who are from the U.S. and some who are from Mexico or other countries who migrate here, legally and illegally, due to the lure of the "American Dream". So, it is in the spirit of reconciliation that Kafe Kiskeya strives to bring together all of us who live here, regardless of race, ethnicity or social class. I feel strongly called, as others involved with Cherith Brook, Kansas City's newest Catholic Worker House, to do my part to undo poverty, racism and militarism. Kafe Kiskeya is a tangible expression of that desire and effort.

Resources on the topic of fair trade include: U.S. Interfaith Trade Justice Campaign tradejusticeusa.org, Global Exchange globalexchange.org, United Students for Fair Trade usft.org, Student Trade and Justice Campaign globaljusticenow.org, Fair Trade Resource Network fairtraderesource.org, and Oxfam oxfamamerica.org. At Cherith Brook, we have recently been discussing buying things conscientiously, and considering our level of consumption in all areas, including natural resources. When each of us does our part, we will together make this world a better, more just and peaceful planet to live on.