Just Coffee® is a volunteer-run project of the British Columbia & Yukon Regional Council of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. The project was initiated by Development and Peace in the Vancouver Archdiocese in 1998. In promoting or selling Fair Trade products Just Coffee promotes and exercises the following principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
Utilizing the traditional Catholic Action method of "See, Judge, Act", the main goal of the project is to promote organic Fair Trade in the Catholic Church in Canada and the USA to benefit the Third World producers of coffee and their environment. The financial advantage to the producers is the fair price received by the growers of organic Fairly Traded coffee. At present the conventional market results in prices received by growers that do not provide them with a decent basic living and which presently are below the cost of production. The Fair Trade guaranteed minimum is US $1.25 per pound (plus a premium of US $0.10 and an organic differential of US $0.20) even if the New York price is lower. In addition to receiving the Fair Trade price, the growers' cooperatives provide services to their members such as agronomic, commercial, social, educational, medical and infra-structure assistance which the members could not otherwise afford.
For information on Fair Trade go to the Vancouver Fair Trade Coffee Network; Oxfam Canada also has interesting information about its "Make Trade Fair Campaign".
On the question of a higher and fair price Pope Paul VI challenged us with his words in the 1967 encyclical On the Development of Peoples: "Let each one examine his conscience, .... Is he prepared to support out of his own pocket works and undertakings in favour of the most destitute? .... Is he ready to pay a higher price for imported goods so that the producer may be more justly rewarded?" (See paragraph 48.)
A secondary goal is to enable Church groups to raise funds by selling Just Coffee®.
We have a partner relationship with two roasters whose organic Fairly Traded coffee we sell under our own Just Coffee® label. They are Ethical Bean in Vancouver, BC and Bean North in Whitehorse, Yukon.” These two roasters give a percentage of the wholesale price to Development and Peace's BC & Yukon Regional Council. This money is used by the Council to further its Partnership and Solidarity relationship with organizations in the global south which work in the field of human rights and economic and social development.
Note: The Just Coffee® project operated by the Toronto Diocese CCODP Council does not include the fundraising goal, nor does its roaster rebate a percentage to CCODP.
In addition to coffee, we also promote Fairly Traded tea, chocolate, sugar and dried fruit because the underlying reasons for doing so are similar. For more info contact apconradi@telus.net.