UUSC’s role in this partnership is to promote the project among our membership and Unitarian Universalist congregations, urging them to put their UU values into action by choosing this coffee, tea and cocoa for use in their churches and homes. Unitarian Universalists value the interdependent web of all existence, and acknowledge that the choices in our daily lives affect thousands of people across the United States and internationally. In our lives, our work and our congregations, we strive to make choices that help others and contribute to a better world.

The benefits of this project are multifold: the proceeds of the coffee, tea and cocoa sales go directly to the farmers at above-market prices; UUSC receives a small percentage of the sale proceeds to provide grants to human rights initiatives in the coffee-growing regions like the current women's leadership training course at the Manos Campesinas cooperative in Guatemala; in addition, Unitarian Universalists are provided with a simple way to promote UU values in daily life and another connection to UUSC's human rights work.

In essence, the UUSC Coffee Project links UUSC, Equal Exchange, small farmers’ organizations, human rights organizations, and UU congregations in an integrated web of support for sustainable, participatory economic development, community empowerment, human rights, and fair trade. Participation in the project strengthens the mission and impact of each partner.

Interfaith partnerships

UUSC is not alone in this commitment to fair trade; Equal Exchange launched their Interfaith Partnerships in 1997 with Lutheran World Relief, and the success of the model led to partnerships with American Friends Service Committee, the Presbyterian Church, and other faith groups in addition to UUSC.

UUSC has been building on these interfaith connections, for example with an interfaith delegation to Nicaragua to learn about the impact of fair trade and the coffee crisis on small farmers. For more information, visit Interfaith delegation visits Nicaragua to understand the importance of fair trade.

UUSC has also participated in interfaith meetings with faith-based organizations and small farmers. Click here for more about the 2002 Interfaith meeting with members of the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), a coffee-growing cooperative in Tanzania.

Action steps

 

 

UUSC Coffee Project Fact Sheet | Equal Exchange Website
Download UUSC Coffee Project Order Form