In the interim, though, here’s a brief overview of their history:

In the 1970s cashew trees were introduced to Honduras, and they began to thrive. However, the local farmers, or campesinos, weren’t making money by selling raw, unhulled cashew nuts. This was mainly because of the middlemen who stepped in and took most of the profits they gleaned from reselling the raw goods to processors and exporters.

In 1981, the campesinos received assistance from a U.S. nonprofit organization to develop the local capacity to process and package the cashews, and a Honduran non-profit, APDP (Asociación Proyectos Del Pueblo) was established and organized the cashew cooperatives that are functioning today. Rural, democratically run campesino cooperatives of growers and producers perfected a safe, local processing technique that prepares cashews for export.

APDP has now dismantled but the co-op members are in the process of learning how to export their own product to ensure a higher level of self-sufficiency. The co-ops are currently obtaining Fair Trade certification through the Fair Trade Labeling Organization. In conjunction with Trocaire, an Irish development agency, Just Cashews is working to raise money to financially assist in building another processing facility for these cooperatives. This will allow the co-ops to process more of their own product, enabling them to retain more of the total income from the product within their own communities.

Just Cashews has developed a fair trade relationship with thecooperatives that grow the cashews, to ensure that the farmers receive a fair price for their product, and have also arranged for organic certification of the co-ops by Bio Latina.

And now we can proudly say that these delicious cashewes are back on our shelves, by popular demand.  It’s a product that not only tastes delicious, but that you can feel good about buying.

We currently have Whole Roasted Salted Cashews, selling for $14.29 per pound, and Whole Raw Cashews, available for only $12.19 per pound. Try some next time you come in!

Just Coffee Cooperative, out of Madison, Wisconsin, is a worker-owned coffee roaster dedicated to creating and expanding a model of fair trade based on “transparency, equality, and human dignity.” Their formation as a cooperative reflects a commitment to a “non-hierarchical and worker empowered shop. All major decisions are made by true democratic process —there are no bosses . . . .”

Just Coffee works in a total cooperative landscape, partnering with growers’ co-ops to obtain green coffee; with Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund for financing; with Cooperative Coffees, Just Coffee’s importing co-op; and by selling to and bartering with housing co-ops, food co-ops, and other worker co-ops. Being a cooperative itself, Just Coffee cinches the circle on this comprehensive cooperative universe.

Just Coffee also touts itself as a 100% fair trade roaster. Unfortunately, many companies boasting fair trade practices practice few, reaping many unfair market advantages such as getting accounts like universities, churches, and food co-ops which they could not with their “conventional” coffee. A less committed company can also offer fair trade coffee at dirt cheap prices and subsidize the loss by offsetting it with profits made from coffee bought at cheaper prices.

In contrast, Just Coffee’s own fair trade code tries to achieve five comprehensive goals: a better price for growers, pre-financing for growers’ business development, long-term partnerships with growers, commitment to cooperative forms of business, and organic methods.

Organic certification, however, has a political side demanding more scrutiny. Certification normally takes up to three years and is costly for poorer farmers. Growers making the commitment generally do not get any return for their expenses until the end of the third year.  Currently the USDA will not allow “Transitional Organic” on labels to let consumers know that they are buying coffee from a farmer attempting to change to organic methods. Contact the USDA National Organic Program and weigh in on the matter.

The last factor in the Just Coffee commitment to grower, land, and customer is transparency.  Instead of depending on third party certifiers to tell you what Just Coffee does, they place their contracts and financials on their website for all to see.

At the Alberta Co-op, you can find Just Coffee for $10.99 – $11.99/12 oz. with the Bike Fuel and Revolution Roast being our most popular blends.  And as a side note, our bulk buyer, Nick, likes to emphasize that Just Coffee is air roasted (not barrel roasted) allowing more of the beans’ natural flavors to emerge.

Websites of interest:

Just Coffee Collective

Contact the USDA National Organic Program

I am not quite sure what ever possessed me to pick up a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s “Magic” Liquid Soap.  How can soap be “magic”?! How can soap have 18 uses?  What are all of these quotes all over the bottle?  But, for some reason, my own curiosity got the best of me and I picked it up.  I was pleased to find out that the ingredients are much simpler than their claims: Water, coconut, olive oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E.  Wow, I can actually read and understand these ingredients!  And, what’s more, I found that the soap is a concentrate, I can dilute it, and it lasts for months!  And, it really works!  In addition, it comes in eight different scents. (My scent of the moment is peppermint, I plan on trying the rose next).

I am still not sold on the 18 uses, and have yet to find where all of these uses are listed(there are ten listed on his website), but this is what I have used it for so far: first, and foremost, as a body cleanser.  I have a bottle with a pump dispenser that I fill about one third with the soap and the rest with water.  Second, I have started using it as a shampoo (by default after running out of my usual brand) and it works perfectly well.  Finally, I tried cleaning with it for the first time the other day and found it very effective on my bathtub and kitchen floor!  The soap foams up nicely and the peppermint smells wonderful.  I have heard that it is great to use as a mouthwash, in laundry and for washing off vegetables, but have yet to experience that myself.

So, while I have not found eighteen different ways to use this soap, if I can wash my body, hair, and house with something that is made out of ingredients that are organic, simple, fair trade, and smell wonderful.  Dr. Bronner, that is “magic” enough for me.