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| FAIR TRADE PROJECT RESOURCE GUIDE |
| | Organizations & Businesses
| Films & DVDs | Curricula | Books |
Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange has been promoting Fair Trade for more than 20 years. In addition to a catalog for ordering quality products, this Web site contains Fair Trade curriculum and fundraising materials, descriptions of farmer-partners, a section on interfaith partners and the story of Equal Exchange’s worker-owned business. To keep current on the latest in the Fair Trade movement, visit the Equal Exchange blog, Small Farmers. Big Change.
Dean's Beans
Activist and entrepreneur Dean Cycon has been working with indigenous communities in the coffeelands for two decades, and his company, Dean's Beans, is a recognized industry leader in the Fair Trade Movement. Included in this Web site are photographs and stories of how your small purchases make a big difference, a “Fair Trade Roadmap” that describes exactly how Dean’s does Fair Trade, a section on People-Centered Development and excerpts from Dean’s zine.
Transfair USA
TransFair USA is an affiliate of Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) and is the certifying agency in the United States for Fair Trade products. The TransFair Web site contains a wealth of information about Fair Trade, about certification and about Fair Trade products and producers. See below for information about TransFair curriculum units for grades K-12.
Global Exchange
Global Exhange is an international human rights organization and a leader in the U.S. Fair Trade movement. This Web site offers education on a wide range of global economic issues and provides direct action ideas to expand Fair Trade markets. See below for more about their newly updated Fair Trade curriculum and cocoa books.
Fair Trade Federation
The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is the trade association that strengthens and promotes North American organizations fully committed to fair trade. Crafts, apparel and other non-certified products are sold by Fair Trade Federation member businesses. Click here for a Shopping Guide to Fair Trade Federation Stores in New York & Online Businesses.
Win Win Solutions:
An Introduction to Fair Trade and Cooperative Economics
Equal Exchange’s 124-page curriculum provides a link between personal actions and community efforts to create a more just and sustainable world. This interdisciplinary resource is designed for grades 4-9 and addresses national standards from a wide variety of subject areas. The flexible structure allows teachers to incorporate individual experiential activities into current lesson plans or use all four units. Available online for free download at http://www.equalexchange.coop/educationaltools.
Setting a Higher Bar:
Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Cocoa Unit for Kids
This full unit from Global Exchange has nine ready-to-use lesson plans using inquiry-based learning and encouraging critical thinking. The unit was written broadly for grades 2-5, but is suitable for younger and older students with adaptation. While primarily a social studies unit integrating language arts, it also includes art, math, and life science. Designed to be supported by the Global Exchange Fair Trade Chocolate Book. Book AND unit are available for free download (with registration) at www.globalexchange.org/cocoa
From TransFair USA. Each unit highlights our global interdependence by focusing on three different Fair Trade foods: Chocolate Explorers (grades K-2), Banana Bonanza (grades 3-6), and Coffee Connections (grades 7-12). Units include lesson plans and address relevant national standards with ideas for accessible, interactive activities on topics ranging from geography, economics, social studies, history, environmental studies, and marketing. Download for free at http://www.transfairusa.org/content/support/classroom.php.
Maya Arts and Crafts of Guatemala /
Artes y Artesanias Mayas de Guatemala
In this bilingual coloring book, pictures and text illustrate the importance of arts and crafts in the lives of the Maya. Two Teacher and Parent Guides are available online for free download: Kids and Fair Trade , which contains lessons designed to help children understand how Fair Trade helps address some of the injustices inherent in our present trading system, and Learning From the Maya About Diversity, Culture and Ecology . For more information about ordering the coloring book or to download Teacher & Parent Guides, visit: http://www.proartemaya.org/
Are you a teacher looking for a one-page, printable listing of Fair Trade Curriculum Resources? Click here [PDF].
Stolen Childhoods
This first feature documentary on global child labor focuses on stories of child laborers around the world, told in their own words. The film places these children’s stories in the broader context of the worldwide struggle against child labor. Purchase at www.stolenchildhoods.org with individual and institutional pricing. A teacher’s resource guide is also available for free download.
Black Gold
The film follows Tadesse Meskela on his mission to help 75,000 struggling coffee farmers in Ethiopia. While the farmers do their part producing delicious coffee, Tadesse travels the world seeking new buyers willing to pay a fair price for the coffee. Viewers learn about the powerful international trading systems such as New York coffee traders and auction houses. Black Gold is available ( with individual and institutional pricing) at www.blackgoldmovie.com, where you can also watch it online. A discussion guide is available at the website.
Buyer Be Fair
This inspirational but balanced television special takes viewers to Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, the USA and Canada to explore how conscious consumers and businesses can use the market to promote social justice and environmental sustainability through product labeling, with a focus on Fair Trade coffee. Purchase a copy of Buyer Be Fair at www.bullfrogfilms.com (individual and institutional pricing). To learn even more about Fair Trade, visit the film’s website, www.buyerbefair.org.
Fair Trade: The Story
This 8-minute video features stories and images of Fair Trade communities as well as interviews with Paul Rice of TransFair and Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard. You can watch it right from your computer by visiting www.eq.tv and entering “Fair Trade” in the search box. Order from TransFair by calling (510) 663-5260 or emailing info@transfairusa.org.
Chocolate Country
This award-winning 30-minute documentary tells the inspirational story of the Loma Guacanejo cooperative, formed by cacao farmers in the rural hill towns of the Dominican Republic. Narrated through voices of the workers themselves, the film serves as a powerful example of the benefits Fair Trade holds for bringing great change to one small community that has long been fighting a losing battle against the realities of the global economy. Purchase a copy of Chocolate Country at http://www.chocolatecountryfilm.com.
Grains of Change
In this 5 minute documentary , anthropology student Carolyn Barnwell travels through northern Thailand where rice farmers are practicing Fair Trade and organic, sustainable agriculture. The film demonstrates how putting people at the center of trade benefits the farmers' families and communities, their way of life and their environment, as well as the health and well-being of consumers worldwide. View online at: http://www.engagetheworld.org/GrainsofChangeVideo.html
Mayan Hands: Weaving a Brighter Future
In this 30-minute documentary, the women of Mayan Hands, a fair trade organization that has been working with Maya weavers in Guatemala since 1989, speak about the positive ways in which fair trade has impacted their lives. By selling their hand-woven textiles at a fair price, Mayan women are able to lift themselves out of poverty, gain greater control over their own lives, and plan for a brighter future for their children. To order the DVD, visit www.mayanhands.org.
Javatrekker
This unique hybrid of Fair Trade business study, adventure travel, and cultural anthropology is published by Chelsea Green Publishing of Vermont. Author and coffee entrepreneur Dean Cycon introduces readers to the real people who make our morning coffee ritual possible - people that few, if any, outsiders have ever seen. Javatrekker is available through the Labor-Religion Coalition and local bookstores for $19.95.
A Cafecito Story
Published by Chelsea Green Publishing (in English and a bilingual edition), A Cafecito Story is a story of love, coffee, birds and hope. It is a beautifully written eco-fable by best-selling author Julia Alvarez, based on her and her husband's experiences trying to reclaim a small coffee farm in her native Dominican Republic. A Cafecito Story demonstrates how the return to the traditional methods of shade-grown coffee can rehabilitate and rejuvenate the landscape and human culture, while at the same time preserving vital winter habitat for threatened songbirds. It is available for $14.95. Search in the Chelsea Green Publishing site for more information.
Bitter Chocolate: The Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet
Published by New Press, this book traces the origins and evolution of chocolate from the banquet table of Montezuma's Aztec court in the early sixteenth century to the bustling factories of Hershey, Cadbury, and Mars today, revealing that slavery and injustice have always been key ingredients. The heart of the book takes place in West Africa where poor farmers have turned to the cheapest labor pool possible: thousands of indentured children who pick the beans but have never themselves known the taste of chocolate. Bitter Chocolate is an absorbing social history, a passionate investigative account, and a shocking exposé of an industry that has institutionalized misery as it indulges our whims. The book is available in hardcover for $27.95. Brouse by title at the New Press site to see more
Fair Trade: A Beginner's Guide:
This book reveals why Fair Trade means more than just bananas, coffee, and chocolate. Author and activist Jacqueline DeCarlo explains the principles behind Fair Trade and its development into a powerful economic tool. This guide was published by Oneworld Publications and is available for $14.95. Search in the Beginner's Guide section for more information.
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World
Published by Basic Books, Uncommon Grounds focuses on coffee's global impact from its roots in 15th-century Ethiopia to its critical role in shaping the nations of Central and Latin America. Author Mark Pendergast examines trading, marketing and consumption patterns as well as the stark social contrasts between where coffee is grown and the markets where it is consumed. List price is $19.95.
Tell Us about fair trade resources you have found. Click here for a guide to fair trade shopping in NY state.
Last Updated: 09/18/2009
© New York State Labor-Religion Coalition
