Somos De Café: We Are Coffee

Authors

Nate Ptacek, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
David Slifka, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Andrew Vavra, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Andrea Carrow, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Brian Essling, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Adam Spooner, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Fernando Galeano, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Patrick McNary Hayes, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Tony Schulte, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Jason Kaas, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Luke Haas, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University

Document Type

Video

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

After three students studied abroad to Guatemala in 2007 and witnessed firsthand the importance of fair trade coffee to a healthy economy, they set out to make a 22-minute documentary entitled Somos de Café, which loosely translates to "We are coffee," in Spanish. This film focuses on Kuchuba'l, a non-profit organization in Guatemala that works to promote fair-trade throughout the country. Six students from CSB/SJU traveled to Guatemala to witness first-hand the effects that the coffee industry has on small farmers. They documented their discovery in an educational video that brings outside assistance to the Kuchuba'l organization, to the rural farmers they support, and to the success of the fair trade movement on the market economy in Guatemala.

Inspired action: Two student-run and one school-run coffee shops on campus are committed to serving fair-trade coffee. ETL collaborated with Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) to raise awareness through fair-trade coffee sales on campus.

Comments

Originally published at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7B1czVnofc

Recommended Citation

Ptacek, Nate; Slifka, David; Vavra, Andrew; Carrow, Andrea; Essling, Brian; Spooner, Adam; Galeano, Fernando; Hayes, Patrick McNary; Schulte, Tony; Kaas, Jason; and Haas, Luke, "Somos De Café: We Are Coffee" (2008). Extending the Link (ETL). 1.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/etl/1