My $0.02 worth
I was just sitting i the staff room, preparing a Javascript lab for this afternoon, when I overheard something remarkable. One of the staff, whose home is a good way away from here, has fields planted to Coffee. He was describing the problems of tending, weeding, spraying, picking and transporting the coffee to the factories…. who then pay three shillings per kilo for the raw coffee beans.
Thats about 2p/Kg!
He went on to describe how, not supprisingly, he has been letting it go to wate in the fields and planting other things, things that his family can eat.
Sophia Says:
There are similar stories in Greece: It it more expensive to cultivate lemons – in a land that traditionally produces them – than to buy the imported ones. So, people who have amture lemon trees either neglect them, or burtn them, and build holiday homes.
And there are worse Europen stories: Eurpean sugar production is subsidized in such a way, that we Europeans pay a lot above the "market" for sugar, while this European sugar gets exported with very low prices to the African countries, at prices much under the "market", thus killing the local sugar production.
There is a bright side to your story: that this farmer had some other produce to plant on his fields, and could use them to feed hsi family.g
June 9th, 2004 at 11:29 pmSophia Says:
There are similar stories in Greece: It it more expensive to cultivate lemons – in a land that traditionally produces them – than to buy the imported ones. So, people who have amture lemon trees either neglect them, or burtn them, and build holiday homes.
And there are worse Europen stories: Eurpean sugar production is subsidized in such a way, that we Europeans pay a lot above the "market" for sugar, while this European sugar gets exported with very low prices to the African countries, at prices much under the "market", thus killing the local sugar production.
There is a bright side to your story: that this farmer had some other produce to plant on his fields, and could use them to feed hsi family.
June 9th, 2004 at 11:29 pmNikki Says:
I just had an exam on that last week
June 10th, 2004 at 12:08 pmugh
Drew Says:
A few years ago, the 4 biggest Evilshitfuck coffee manufacturers(sara lee, P&G, Nestle(that name again) and Kraft) artifically created a crash in the price of coffee:
oxfam site has some good background info on Fair trade:
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=03122003144207.htm&cat=2&subcat=3&select=10
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=action25.htm&subcat=3&cat=2&select=2&special=yes
Other than that,
Managed to not-dance at BTB on sunday, was really lovely,
June 10th, 2004 at 1:54 pmHiya Mark, good to read your news,
I Still can’t dance, but improving… Now I can do it without moving my lips
Would be great to do it every evening down by the thames.
Still haven’t worn anything REALLY orange to go swing, I’ve been going undercover so no-one will know how orange I am.
Keep meeting people who swing
Oh and there is just this one lovely small bit of news….
Hugs
Drew
Mark Says:
Wear orange!
A few years ago I went to Beach Boogie and noticed that most of the teachers and plenty of other good dancers were wearing orange clothes. When I returned to the mainland, I bought an orange T-Shirt (I’m actually wearing it as I write this!) and soon after that a pair of orange trousers. Look where that ended.
But I still maintain that my theory was correct: wearing orange really does improve your Lindy Hop.
June 11th, 2004 at 3:43 pm