FomCafe - Oaxaca, Mexico - April 2007

In April, Executive Director Carolyn Fairman and Michael Baccellieri, president of Longbottom Coffee and Tea, traveled with Coffee Kids' program staff to Oaxaca, Mexico, to visit some of the communities supported by Coffee Kids partner FomCafé.

FomCafé teaches sustainable practices for organic coffee cultivation and provides the training and technical assistance necessary to achieve organic and fair trade certification. But FomCafé's greater mission involves promoting a sustainable way of life, which is particularly important with the low prices paid for even certified coffees.

During this trip Coffee Kids visited the communities of La Muralla and Tutiahua located in the middle of the Mixteca and Sierra Sur Mountains of Oaxaca.

The Coffee Kids and Baccellieri team drove for six hours to arrive at La Muralla where they were warmly received by a small women's group. The women's group explained their saving and micro-credit project, how they began, and their long-term goals and dreams.

On the next day the trip continued for two hours down a dusty road to visit another women's group working on an edible mushroom project. With the technical support of FomCafé, the women's group has learned how to cultivate the mushrooms and create a potential source of income. The FomCafé team brought fresh mushrooms that the women used to prepare a delicious dish called amarillo de hongos.

For a first-hand account of the trip, visit Michael Baccellieri's blog at http://www.coffeemariner.com..

25 photos | 156 views

items are from between 20 Apr 2007 & 21 Apr 2007.