Fair trade with a success story from Mexico: Guest from Mexico reports on coffee cultivation

Leandro Efrain Ventura Morales from the small farmers’ cooperative ISMAM visited many fair trade action groups in Austria in September/October. Fairtrade-certified coffees have been found on the shelves of retail chains and discount stores for years. The EZA-Fairer Handel, based in Köstendorf, dealt with the issue of “Fair exchange conditions, changing the living conditions of small producers” and took action fifty years ago.

FAIRIOSO is the first EZA coffee to contain high-quality Fairtrade-certified Robusta beans, which are considered a real rarity. This blend has been carefully developed to offer a distinctive taste experience that will delight both coffee enthusiasts and conscious consumers. The new FAIRIOSO combines the best properties of Arabica and Robusta beans. While the Arabica beans from the highlands of Latin America and East Africa are known for their fine aromas and mild acidity, the noble Robusta beans from Mexico give the coffee a strong note and a full-bodied body.

Members of the Fairtrade municipality of Seekirchen action group took advantage of this encounter with Leonardo Morales in Hallein to obtain first-hand information about the living conditions of the cooperative members. Susanne Nobis, spokeswoman for the action group, is concerned that climate change will also have such an impact on coffee cultivation and that cultivated areas will be lost as a result. The cooperative tries to prepare its members for these changes through educational work and social projects.

Image: Encounter at the EZA headquarters in Köstendorf; from left to right: Michael Scherndl (management of EZA), Anton Wintersteller (co-founder of EZA), Leonardo Morales (Cooperative Mexico) and Christine Etzer (management of EZA);