Just Haiti Coffee

We are proud to have on hand a large quantity of fresh coffee from the organization Just Haiti!

Pat and I discovered them while attending the recent Pax Christi National Conference in Chicago last summer. The coffee is grown in small cooperatives and fairly traded. In addition, it is organic and sustainably shade grown.

From their website: Just Haiti works to alleviate poverty, hunger, violence, illiteracy and disease in Haiti by fostering small-business development, education programs, employment opportunity, infrastructure improvement and environmental quality.

The coffee is quite good. We have on hand a regular gourmet roast as well as a darker, Haitian-style roast. We would be glad to distribute it to you for a reasonable donation. Our expenses are $9.95 for each 12 oz package plus shipping--well within a normal price range for gourmet, Fair Trade products. If we are able to move a large quantity, then we will be able to make bulk purchases to cut costs a bit, but for right now we are experimenting with smaller quantities to see how it goes.

I was impressed to discover how well established the Fair Trade market is in Columbus after doing some market research. Many churches and vendors sell quite a bit of Fair Trade coffee and other products. However, I was also surprised to discover no signs of Haitian coffee anywhere in town. That is a gap we intend to fill!

Just Haiti invests in sustainable development in Haiti--the kind of development that may have prevented many of the recent earthquake deaths through better infrastructure and a population more spread out in rural areas. While Just Haiti mostly supports communities near Baradères on the southwestern "arm" of the island (about 100 miles from the earthquake epicenter), they are taking in a surge of refugees from Port-au-Prince. In addition, some buildings have been damaged directly by the earthquakes in that area.

The organization Just Haiti not only distributes coffee, but it also takes donations directly through its website to support sustainable development and earthquake relief in rural areas. Check out the links above for more information!

Stop by the Catholic worker house to try out some Haitian coffee. We will be glad to brew you a pot! You are welcome to take home a bag.