Co-Oping

The Indian Peaberry has arrived, thanks to Joseph! I'll be sure to give a review of it later in the week, but for now I wanted to discuss what came in the packaging in addition to the peaberry roast:

"Meet Las Hermanas" it reads; the name of a co-operative group in Nicaragua. It's all women, which is fantastic, and the story seems empowering enough to support. So why bring it up? There is one good thing and two possible worries with a story like this.

Worries:
* This is the only instance of such a group for such a big company, thus merely encouraging everyone to have their "token" disenfranchised story to tell instead of actually helping more of those kinds of people. (See the fact that it's a "Special Offering" on the website.)

* Trader Joe's had already been doing this (see entry "Exploratorio de Peru" on 23 May), and thus this is more about competition than the aforementioned concern for empowering the impoverished.


Positives:
* More co-operatives for the traditionally disenfranchised are being formed and helped through the processes of bigger caffeine distributors.

* People actually getting helped, regardless of the motive.


Time always tells, I guess. But at least there's some good to come of it no matter what.

All the best,
Michael