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Chiapas Women's Fair Trade Tour visits Washington, DC
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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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