Fairtrade Foundation Welcomes Launch of Film Black Gold

The Fairtrade Foundation welcomes the launch of critically acclaimed film Black Gold, a production by Nick Francis and Marc Francis, which releases in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this week.

The film examines how Ethiopian coffee farmers find themselves at the sharp end of fluctuating world prices, resulting in devastating poverty and starvation affecting entire communities in one of the world’s poorest countries. This is despite the fact that Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, produces some of the world’s most desirable varieties of coffee beans and that coffee is the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

The story follows Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of coffee co-op Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, as he tirelessly travels the world to find new buyers for his coffee in order to get his farmers a fair price and a better deal. The co-op is Fairtrade registered to supply the international Fairtrade market but to date, less than 10% of Oromia’s coffee is sold on Fairtrade terms.

Tadesse says: “Our main aim is to bring more money into the coffee growers’ pocket. Farmers want to earn enough to live a better life, to send our children to school, to feed enough and have good clothing and a good life”. Tadesse’s co-op members are located in the vast Oromia State of southern and southwest Ethiopia which produces 65% of the country’s coffee. The farms are situated in mountainous and rainforest areas at altitudes of 1,500 to 2,000 metres where electricity and running water are rare. Coffee is the nucleus of the Ethiopian economy and accounts for more than 50% of Ethiopia's exports, 95% of which is grown by small farmers. About 700,000 households are dependant on coffee and another 15 million are partly dependant on coffee for their livelihoods.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the four multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the WTO (World Trade Organization) talks in Cancun reveal the vulnerability of farmers at the end of long supply chains who are at the mercy of changeable world prices and policies over which they have no control.

In the film, Tadesse calls for the education of coffee’s consumers to force a change in the system: “Our hope is one day the consumer will understand what he’s drinking and will ask these people who are not having Fairtrade coffee to pay a fair price. This is our hope. The consumers can bring a change if awareness is given to consumers to ask for Fairtrade products.”

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said: “We congratulate the film makers for producing such a sensitive and moving film which highlights some of the problems surrounding the global coffee trade and opens up wider debate. Fairtrade has created a link between the consumer and the farmer in the developing world who grows the food on our tables and has put people at the centre of trade. The public have embraced Fairtrade as a powerful idea, showing that you can and should manage markets for social and development goals. We ask more companies and business to respond to consumer interest by offering more Fairtrade products. Furthermore we call on governments to get a trade deal which is fair to developing countries in current round of World Trade Organisation talks”.

Towards the end of the film, the Oromia Fairtrade Premium Committee meets and the farmers pass a resolution to spend the Fairtrade social premium on the construction of a new school. Under a quarter of Ethiopian children complete primary education . Like so many farmers the world over, the Oromia farmers recognize the essential role of education in the fight against poverty and make this their unanimous decision.

“We urge everyone to go to see the film to learn more about the situation facing so many of the world’s farmers and better understand the devastating impact that low coffee prices have on entire communities. We hope that people who have seen the film will make sure they look for the FAIRTRADE Mark on coffee when they go shopping or visit their local cafe”, Harriet adds.


For more information on Fairtrade coffee see our Briefing Paper .


Notes to Editors
1. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards set by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) the umbrella organisation that unites national Fairtrade initiatives across Europe, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

2. The first ever London based festival of films which examines the issues of trade justice and the need for a better deal for disadvantaged farmers and producers in the developing world is currently screening a range of Fairtrade related films including Black Gold. The four week film festival is being held at a selection of London venues from 3-27 June. For full details of the films and cinemas please see www.fairtradelondon.org.uk

For further information, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk.

The Fairtrade Foundation,
Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens,
London EC1N 7RJ.

Tel: 020 7405 5942
Fax: 020 7405 5943
Web: www.fairtrade.org.uk