Equal Exchange and Weavers Way have been partners for many years, collaborating on initiatives around small-scale farmers, cooperative economies and authentic Fair Trade. One recent collaboration is the Co-op’s commitment to offer a unique packaged coffee from Equal Exchange called the Congo Coffee Project. Here’s the story behind the beans. 

The Congo Coffee Project was launched in 2011 by Equal Exchange and the Panzi Foundation to raise awareness around and support the growth and healing of those affected by sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Panzi Foundation and Panzi Hospital were founded by Congolese gynecologist and activist Dr. Denis Mukwege. 

The foundation raises awareness around the issues affecting the people in Eastern Congo, ravaged by years of war following the Rwandan genocide in 1994, while also providing grants to the Panzi Hospital, which offers holistic health care for the victims and their families affected specifically by sexual violence.

Congo is a place of tremendous natural-resource wealth that has suffered extreme violence since the mid 1990s. Soldiers, rebels and militias fight over the power to control some of the world’s largest deposits of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. These minerals are used to produce our jewelry, computers, cell phones and other electronics. To gain control over these minerals, armed groups use violent rape as a systematic weapon of war. Before the founding of the Panzi Hospital, located near Bukavu in Eastern Congo, survivors of rape had few options for healing physically or mentally. Being ostracized is still the case for victims but since the Panzi Hospital opened its doors in 1999, it has become a refuge for thousands of survivors.

The Congo Coffee Project is a blend of coffee from SOPACDI, a Congolese coffee cooperative formed in 2002, which is made up of 5,600 small-scale farmers who are helping to restore economies in the Eastern Congo ravaged by war. For every bag of Congo Coffee Project sold, Equal Exchange donates $2 ($1 wholesale) to the Panzi Foundation. Since launching the Congo Coffee Project, Equal Exchange has raised more than $75,000 for survivors.

The Congo Coffee Project has a three-part impact: helping to restore the local economy by bringing Congolese coffee to the U.S. market, raising awareness to empower consumers (like shoppers at Weavers Way) about the issues affecting Congo today and directly supporting the Panzi Foundation to aid survivors of this violence. 

I recently had the honor to meet Dr. Mukwege and represent Equal Exchange at an award ceremony at the University of Pennsylvania’s school of Nursing. In March, Dr. Mukwege received the 2016 Reinfield Award, which honors leaders in global women’s health. During his acceptance speech, Dr. Mukwege said that too many people close their eyes and ears to the injustices around the world; what one cannot see or hear does not exist. As I listened to these words, I reflected on our ability to use our voices. The Congo Coffee Project and the work of Dr. Mukwege and the Panzi Foundation are tools we can use to open ears and eyes, to call attention to what is happening and to demand justice.

In celebration of World Fair Trade Day on May 14, Equal Exchange will be running sales on our products — please stop by the Co-op to pick up some Congo Coffee Project beans or other delicious EE coffee, helping to empower consumers and small scale producers!