Esperanza Castillo displays a clock presented to her at the RA in recognition of her efforts to promote Fair Trade. Castillo is accompanied, l-r, by Brian O'Shaughnessy, Dick Iannuzzi and Dean Cycon, founder of Dean's Beans.
Esperanza Castillo waited 26 years to get a fair price for the coffee produced by the 464-member Peruvian farmers' cooperative she manages in San Martin de Pangoa, Peru. Castillo traveled thousands of miles to the NYSUT RA to let everyone know the changes fair trade has made in the lives of her members. "Some of the farmers have bought more land, improved their houses and installed electricity," she said during a brief, heartfelt, Saturday address to delegates.
Farmers now have hope for the future, she said. "Instead of living day-to-day, we now plan for the future," said Castillo, explaining that both a women's loan program and an educational fund for farmers' children have been established. This year, for the first time, a student from a farm family will attend the University of Lima.
Brian O'Shaughnessy, director of the Labor-Religion Coalition's Fair Trade Project, urged delegates to support the program to heighten consumer awareness of the importance of buying fairly traded goods. Project organizers showed a video that highlighted the plight of child coffee bean harvesters in Kenya. "What do you get for buying fair trade?" asked O'Shaughnessy. "Great products for a fair price and you walk the walk that will literally save lives."
NYSUT and the coalition have partnered with Dean's Beans and Equal Exchange as part of the program. Both have pledged to donate a percentage of each sale to the Labor-Religion Coalition when Internet purchasers enter the code word "NYSUT" at check out.