Tuesday, December 17, 2002


rural mexican indigenous culture

seems like an odd topic, hmm, dear readers, doesn't it? but the point of this little ethnographic article is to show the evidence of the human suffering the continuing coffee crisis wreaks on the most far away places.

that's right -- the greed of the largest coffee companies, those responsible for the supermarket canned coffee brands -- the coffee most people drink every day -- is destroying lives and villages in rural mexico.

read the article about the changes in this indigenous tribe of mexican natives. it all seems harmless enough, almost a feminist fable, until you realize it's about a coffee region.

you're reading about the plight of native huasteco women, guardians of their unique langugage. the plummeting price of coffee has left their husbands out of work, turned to alcoholism and lost in despair. some of these husbands have been forced to become illegal immigrants, to risk their lives crossing the border.

(the next time you read the short blurb on the back pages of your paper about the 11 mexican immigrants found dead in a sealed boxcar, you will know who you're reading about, why they died the way they did, and the effect on their families in mexico.)

what you're looking at is a story about the collapse of the social system in rural mexico. in that light, it's deeply sad.

but don't be bummed out. not only can you do something about this -- you will, i'm sure. run down to your local coffeehouse and ask for some fair-trade or relationship coffee. give fair-trade coffee to your friends. and consider donating a few dollars to either coffee kids or lwr coffee project, both excellent charities.

posted by fortune | 2:16 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments