Fair trade Coffeehouse and Antique Store

Fair trade Coffeehouse and Antique Store

Fair trade coffeehouse offers all its coffee in an environmentally friendly, and socially guilt free opinion for only a dollar more (for a large). The coffeehouse also features a quality antiques showcases from local thrift stores that are sold in an auction every two months. 30% of benefits from auctions go into a pool to Sponsor women from third world countries through Women for Women International. Every $324.00 pooled will help to support a woman for a year. Every month there is a special drink that buying will add to the pool, and donations to the pool are accepted.

Letters from the women who are being supported will line the walls of the coffee shop, along with information about the benefits of Fair trade coffee. A small sample of the products from Global Girlfriend, a non-profit organization that helps women worldwide sells straight to you, are available for sell. The organization’s catalogs are also available upon request. The Coffeehouse is filled with comfortable, and beautiful antiques that it has purchased from local thrift stores. The local library has donated a number of old, but good books.

The small community has crossed its fingers to see if this radical new coffee shop will survive. The owner believes that it will, and hopes that similar coffee shops will follow its example. One thing is for sure; this coffee shop challenges its visitors to ask more from its coffeehouse. It just might have cornered a market that Starbucks has overlooked. A market where visiting the local coffee shop can make a person feel like they have made a difference in the world.

I hope that this small coffee shop survives, and that its effects on the coffee market are widespread spurring even Starbucks to start offering fair trade coffee as an option with every drink. Perhaps I am just a dreamer.