Victor Méndez and Roberto Jimenez-Herrera, farmers from Agua Buena, Costa Rica table with Troy Henri, CAN Internship Coordinator, at the United Students for Fair Trade Convergence Conference in Santa Cruz, CA, February, 2004.

Who We Are

CAN is a U.S.-based non-profit organization with a mission to develop a network of rural communities and consumers that work together to support self-sufficiency and sustainable farming practices. After visiting several Latin American farming communities facing similar challenges, the founders, Steve Gliessman and Robbie Jaffe, initiated CAN in 2001, to link these communities in a grassroots effort to connect producers and consumers.

CAN's network provides rural communities with the tools to become economically viable through agriculture while also benefiting the environment through:

• Action research - farm-based research involving investigators and farmers with information generated from within and provided to the community;
• Education - community education, technical assistance, leadership development, consumer education, and ongoing exchanges and participation between the member communities;
• Marketing - development of producer-controlled markets that support local communities and create direct links with consumers.

CAN communities mail coffee directly to consumers across the U.S.

CAN has developed a "fair trade direct" coffee marketing system. By linking coffee co-ops in Central America with U.S. consumers, CAN helps farmers receive a just and sustainable price for their coffee. Through linking growers and consumers in a 'global village farmers market,' CAN connects economic viability with ecological farming practices, including transitioning to organic production and reforestation.

Ways to get involved

CAN's grassroots network depends on you! It's simple and you can be part of CAN in a way that you choose. Here are some ideas:

• If you drink coffee, have a monthly subscription delivered right to your door from the farmer!
• If you are looking for a gift that supports the environment and helps coffee farmers, order a coffee subscription for a friend!
• If you are part of an organization that supports Fair Trade, let them know about the CAN network and bulk order coffee direct from the communities.

  Researchers from Yale School of Forestry work with farmers in Tacuba, El Salvador to find ways to maintain and improve shade trees on their coffee farms.

• If you want to experience living with a farm family and working on community projects, find out about CAN internships in Costa Rica , El Salvador , and Nicaragua.
• Become a member of CAN and support sustainable farming and reforestation projects.
• Think about the people you know: family, friends, colleagues. How can you help support and extend the CAN network? Let us know your ideas!

...and Create Hope

With coffee prices at an all-time low, millions of coffee farmers are struggling to survive. Communities and countries that depend on coffee trade barely make ends meet, with the cost of production often exceeding the price they receive for coffee beans. Farmers are looking for new ways to sell their coffee that are more economically sustainable, particularly through specialty coffee markets (i.e. organic, shade grown, Fair Trade, etc). To facilitate economic and environmental sustainability, CAN helps Fair Trade certified cooperatives receive an even greater price for their beans than through conventional Fair Trade, while also promoting sustainable agricultural practices. By linking direct marketing with ecological farming, CAN is a beacon for the future of the fair trade movement.

Click here to order coffee direct from CAN communities