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Chiapas Women's Fair Trade Tour visits Washington, DC



 
 
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Old October 29th 03, 05:31 PM
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Default Chiapas Women's Fair Trade Tour visits Washington, DC

--------------------------------------------------
Women from the Jolom Mayatik Weaving Collective in Chiapas, Mexico
will
speak about their work
and present their wares
(all events are free, donations gladly accepted)

Washington DC Tour Events:
Saturday Nov. 1
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Event at the Festival Center
(co-sponsored by the Committee for Indigenous Solidarity)
1640 Columbia Rd.
contact: Teresita Jacinto 703-590-2653

Sun. Nov. 2 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
LISTEN to the collective
on the 'Talking Feather' radio show
1450 AM

Sun. Nov. 2 2:30 pm
Leavey Program Room
2nd floor, Leavey Center
Georgetown University
37th and O Sts. NW
contact: Lindsay Shivley 202-784-8137

Sun. Nov. 2 7:00 pm
George Washington University
Contact: Lina Museyev 202-242-7224
Mon. Nov. 3 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
brown-bag luncheon

Institute for Policy Studies
733 15th St. NW, Suite 1020
contact: Netfa 202-234-9382 ext. 229
Mon. Nov. 3 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Butler Board Room
4th floor, Mary Grayden Center
American University
4801 Massachusetts Ave NW
contact: Kat Schiffler 202-885-3333
---------------------------------------
About the presenters:
Celia Sántiz Ruiz and Merit Evangelina Ichin Santiesteban from
Chiapas,
Mexico and Macrina Cardenas from the Mexico Solidarity Network will:
·Offer cooperative made weavings and crafts for sale in order to raise
money to improve the living conditions in communities.
·Promote a sustainable model of international trade based on economic
justice.
·Discuss the impact that fair trade has on Mexican indigenous
communities.
·Discuss the leadership of women in the fair trade cooperatives.
----------------------------------------
ABOUT THE TOUR:
Women Constructing a Fair Global Economy: Fair Trade and Globalization
Tours
Sponsored by Mexico Solidarity Network--Fall 2003

Since NAFTA went into effect, over one million Mexican corn farmers
have
lost their land and livelihood due to US agricultural subsidies. These
subsidies have allowed the US to effectively dump US corn and other
agricultural products on the Mexican market at below the cost of
production, making it impossible for Mexican farmers to compete. In
2002,
President Bush signed a US$180 billion farm bill that raises already
high
subsidies for US corporate producers, but leaves most small and
medium-sized farmers without significant assistance. Currently Mexico
imports 47% of its food, and in the immediate future only about 1/8 of
agricultural producers will able to survive on their income. Many are
forced to migrate to large cities, the northern border or the US in
search
of seasonal work.

Coffee has traditionally been one of Mexico?s most important export
crops.
Coffee is the second largest US import after oil, and the US consumes
one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in
the
world. However, few Americans realize that farmers who supply the
coffee
industry often toil in sweatshops in the fields. Many small coffee
farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs
of
production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. In recent
months coffee prices have plummeted to all-time lows and are currently
less
than $.50 per pound. Coffee companies have not lowered consumer prices
but
are pocketing the difference, while thousands of communities in Mexico
and
the rest of Latin America slide deeper into poverty.

Fair Trade in coffee, textiles, and other commodities are important to
improving living conditions for the poorest people in developing
nations
like Mexico. In coffee, the Fair Trade certification mark has been
developed to assure consumers that coffee was purchased under Fair
Trade
conditions. To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet
stringent
international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound of $1.26,
providing much needed credit to farmers, and providing technical
assistance
such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade for coffee
farmers means community development, health, education, and
environmental
stewardship.

Until a larger market for fair trade commodities can be developed, it
is
also important to support alternative development models. In Chiapas,
women artisans constitute one of the main sources of income for
indigenous
families. This is especially true since the collapse of the
international
corn market, which provided many small farmers with their only source
of
income. In many cases it is the only form of sustaining the family,
especially when crops fail to produce enough to sustain a family due
to
adverse climate or when prices drop below the cost of production due
to
corporate centered globalization. This work is especially important
for
families where the father has died or cannot leave the community to
work in
areas of political unrest, such as Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero.
Fair Trade Cooperatives allow women to play a central role in the
control
and development of local economies. Through cooperatives, women have a
stronger voice in developing a sustainable model of trade based on
economic
justice. Fair Trade allows community cooperatives to raise money to
improve the living conditions for their communities, control the
production
and marketing of products, construct a just economy on a local level
in
which women can be central participants in the management of their own
products, maintain ancestral knowledge, support sustainable
agriculture,
and provide much needed funds for community development projects.

The Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN) Women Constructing a Fair Global
Economy:
Fair Trade and Globalization Tours in the fall of 2003, will feature
representatives from MSN, K'inal Antzetik, and Jolom Mayaetik and will
offer a series of workshops and public presentations that will:
· Discuss threats to indigenous communities, especially women, such as
the
Free Trade Area of the Americas, NAFTA, and the Plan Puebla Panama.
· Discuss the corn and coffee crisis in Mexico.
· Promote a sustainable model of international trade based on economic
justice
· Discuss the impact that fair trade has on Mexican indigenous
communities
· Discuss the leadership of women in the fair trade cooperatives
· Offer cooperative made crafts for sale in order to raise money to
improve
the living conditions in communities.

Contact: Mexico Solidarity Network at , or
call 415-621-8100.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTICIPATING SPEAKERS:
Mexico Solidarity Network -
http://www.mexicosolidarity.org
The Mexico Solidarity Network is a coalition of 88 organizations
struggling
for democracy, economic justice and human rights on both sides of the
US-Mexico border. The Network believes that civil society must play
the
leading role in development of these values and must develop as a
political
force with democratic spaces that are outside of the
party/establishment
context. The program of the Network also reflects our commitment to
developing effective bi-national strategies to confront common
problems.
Our program increases links between Mexican and US-based civil
society;
increases educational opportunities so that people on both sides of
the
border can better understand common problems and develop strategies;
and
increases activism opportunities that will impact bi-national
policies.

K'inal Antzetik - http://www.laneta.apc.org/kinal
K'inal Antzetik is a non-governmental organization that works with and
for
indigenous women in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero,
Michoacan,
Jalisco, Puebla, Hidalgo, and Queretaro. The name K'inal Antzetik
means
‘Land of Women' in the Mayan language tzeltal. The organization seeks
to
transform discriminatory relationships and work for social justice
democracy and autonomy. K'inal Antzetik works closely with many
indigenous
women?s cooperatives, but collaborates most closely with Jolom
Mayaetik.

Jolom Mayaetik
Jolom Mayaetik is a cooperative of several hundred indigenous weavers
in
Chiapas, Mexico. Jolom Mayaetik's objective is not just to sell
artesania
(crafts) but also to educate women about their rights as women and
indigenous people. They strive to build the capacity of indigenous
women to
speak about the situation in Chiapas, the struggle for indigenous
rights in
Mexico, and to realize their own potential as women to build a just
economy.
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