OVCC: The Ohio Valley Coffee Cartel

Next to the rice cakes and Maryanne’s hummus, there is now a new addition to the Ohio Valley Coffee Cartel (OVCC) Whirlpool fridge. A shipment of coffee – fair trade coffee.

In another grand attempt to take on more tasks than they can possibly handle, the OVCC staff has now taken up trading in the dark elixir of hyperawakedness. You too can satisfy your painful addiction for this nectar, and now you can do it with fair trade coffee from OVCC.

As the coffee (and tea) market in the US continues to grow, the farmers are being exploited even more: by their own governments, by big corporations, and bluntly put, by you.

This means that while you pay almost $3 for a cup of Starbucks, the farmers are getting mere pennies on the pound, generally not enough to sustain themselves and their families. The system is set up such that most people in these countries cannot even afford their own coffee once it hits their local markets.

OVCC (and even Starbucks) has realized this and taken up a very simple system (yes it’s legal – although it’s akin to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor) which has been around for a while but is still not entirely popular.

Fair trade coffee guarantees the small family farmers a fair price for their coffee, and through this simple economic model several problems these farmers face can be alleviated.

These problems include job loss and desperation as farmers have been forced from their jobs. The economic instability caused by the lack of fair prices for coffee has driven many of these farmers to starvation.

Sometime they abandon their children, community and property in search of jobs. Sometimes farmers inadvertently increase environmental problems by cutting down trees, hoping this will make their coffee farms more economically viable.

Fair trade brings hope and justice to the farmers who are lifted out of poverty by being paid legitimate prices for their crop and their hard work.

OVCC is selling fair trade coffee from the Arizona-based Tonatierra project, No Justice, No Java, at $10 per 16 oz. bag. Call us at (304) 522-0246 and we will make sure you get your coffee.

Even when you do get the urge to go to a Starbucks Café, or any other café for that matter, ask for fair trade coffee.

Another thing to do would be to spread the word as widely as possible. Tell your friends or, if you think you can’t get the details right, give them this article.

Have a "fair to the last drop" day!

OVEC intern Abe Mwaura.