Student Committee of
Librarians Without
Borders at
UBC
Linking Fair Trade Products to Social Movements:Lesbia Morales Sican and the Campesino Committee of the Highlands, Guatemala
by Samantha Sinanan / Nov. 18, 2009
On November 10, 2009 the student committee of Librarians Without Borders at UBC (LWB@UBC) hosted a talk on linking fair trade products to social movements. We were proud to welcome Cafe Etico representative Kirsten Daub along with very special guest Lesbia Morales Sican of the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) in Guatemala.
Lesbia is here as part of an initiative to educate Canadian audiences about how proceeds from fair trade products such as those sold by Cafe Etico are spent. With Kirsten acting as her translator, Lesbia provided a contextual background, telling us of some of the challenges faced by Guatemalan farmers. The Guatemalan government is rife with corruption and many farmers live in abject poverty, desperate to sell their goods.
Lesbia and the CCDA are trying to change this and have created a grassroots movement that has succeeded in reaching 11 of Guatemala's 22 states. They strive for inclusion and empowerment as they work to improve the standard of living for those in the Mayan Campesinos. The CCDA is involved in a variety of projects including the production and sale of fair trade coffee as well as a number of educational initiatives such as the scholarship program of which Lesbia was a recipient as a teenager. Vancouver is one of several stops across the country where Lesbia will visit Canadian activists and spread her message of hope and solidarity.
If you are interested in learning more or purchasing Cafe Etico products you can do so through LWB@UBC by sending us an email at lwb.ubc@gmail.com or visit Coffee for a Cause.