Fair Trade 2: Lutheran students visit Nicaragua coffee farmers - Ministry Videos

2009 Fair Trade #2: NMU Lutheran Campus Ministry & Nicaragua Coffee Farmers

Two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students - Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI - are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade.

This is the first of several excerpts from their presentation.

In part two, the students explain the Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.

They also take a look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community (not just coffee farming families).

The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met.

The NMU students among 13 Americans on Lutheran World Relief Study Tour entitled NICARAGUA: Pour Justice to the Brim from January 5-12, 2009

The group visited the capitol of Managua, and the cities/villages of Matagalpa, Jinotega and La Reyna.

Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects women's rights and human rights plus fights poverty.

Arriving at the peak of the coffee harvest, the students visited many aspects of the industry including dry mills, wet mills and coffee cooperatives.

They spoke on January 13, 2008 to a group at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Marquette, MI.



Related links:



LWR Study Trips

http://www.lwr.org/study



Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) at Northern Michigan University (NMU)

http://www.nmulutherans.org

http://www.nmulutherans.org/newsletter.html#fragment-5

http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com



Evangelical Luther