Successfully certified an additional 31 cooperatives
The official FLO inspection report (47 pages long!) came back and while Sidama Union has some improvements to make, we have successfully certified an additional 31 cooperatives for a total of 39. This is wonderful news and has been the main focus of my work. The Fair Trade certification is huge for the farmers and with it comes additional support to help build the organizational capacity of the Sidama Union. As I have said before, Fair Trade coffee demands a higher price in the market and as a result the farmers get paid more allowing them to invest in their communities in ways not previously possible.
In addition, next week two TransFair employees from the US will be visiting Ethiopia and I will be accompanying them to visit a few of the coffee farmers in the south. Fun fun. After that, I have about a week left to tie-up loose ends and finish up my work before spending some time traveling and exploring the culture in greater depth.
Also, we just posted a video about the project if anyone is interested:
Ben Mandell in Ethiopia