How Best to Help Haiti? Buy Haitian Coffee

Nov. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- St. Charles began their partnership with Haitians 25 years ago, under the leadership of the then and current pastor, Father Horace H. "Tuck" Grinnell.  Today they:

■   Educate and feed over 800 students in six schools

■ Provide economic, technical and equipment guidance to promote agricultural efforts

■ Link local clinics with the health system in Haiti, provide materials and staff

■ Support development of Haitian coffee through the local cooperative KAMAK

On Sunday, November 11th, 2012, at 7:15 pm St. Charles is hosting a Haitian coffee farmer who is presenting information on the life and work of farmers in Haiti. The resurgence in Haitian coffee can be attributed to many things, but the support of those who purchase Haitian coffee is the most important factor.

Coffee has a long and rich history in Haiti.  In 1788, Haiti supplied half the world's coffee.  Dreadful slave conditions and brutality resulted in the first successful slave revolution in 1804. After independence, coffee remained one of Haiti’s major export crops, peaking around 1850. In the 1940s Haiti's coffee sector made a brief comeback where, in 1949, Haiti was the third largest coffee exporter in the world.

"We welcome Mr. Jean-Marc and are thrilled that coffee growers in our sister parishes have connected with his regional coffee-producing co-operative. We are excited to begin selling coffee that was grown in our sister parishes here at St. Charles," said Elise Cleva, Social Justice Coordinator at St. Charles.

“Giving people money only takes them so far; giving people meaningful work where there is pride in the product and methods that create self-sustainability, this is the true gift,” says Molly Nicaise, co-founder of Singing Rooster, a nonprofit that provides parishes like St. Charles with fresh roasted Haitian coffee to sell at fundraising events to raise awareness for Haiti.

Now, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, coffee is becoming a lifeline for farmers who need people like St. Charles to support them by helping improve agricultural techniques, providing preharvest financing, and, most importanly, buying the product.

For information on Sunday's event or to learn more about St. Charles' work in Haiti, contact

Elise Cleva, Social Justice Coordinator at St. Charles

703-527-5500 ext. 36


To learn more about Singing Rooster's work in Haiti, see

http://www.singingrooster.org

Their green Haitian coffee beans are 100% Arabica and wet processed. They currently source their beans from the Dondon, Artibonite, Beaumont, Cavaillon and Thiotte regions of Haiti.

Varietals: Arabica typica, Arabica blue mountain.

Cupping Notes: soft sweetness, hints of chocolate, medium body, balanced cup, mellow acidity.

Two words: smooth & rich

To learn more about Singing Rooster's projects or to support their work through donations, see their website:

http://www.singingrooster.org

Singing Rooster's Haitian Mountain Bleu coffee (http://www.singingrooster.org/buycoffee.html) comes from the same plant & is grown in the same region as the wildly successful Jamaican Blue - but at a fraction of the price.

100% of Singing Rooster's proceeds go BACK to Haiti; our goal is to build economic infrastructures based, in part, on coffee growing, production and exportation.

Drink our Coffee. Build an economy. Pass it on.