Articles
Gerardo’s Story
“In our cooperative, we are family, and we work as a team. If we have an objective or goal, we all pull in that direction. It’s created a safe place for our farmers. We’re not alone anymore…we trust in each other, that no one will take advantage of us, and we feel safe. I would ask that people who drink my coffee do so with responsibility, solidarity, sustainability, and trust. I’d like them to not only remember me, the coffee farmer, but to think of the next generation.”
Community-Supported Fair Trade: Celebrating 30 Years of Our Interfaith Program
“One of Equal Exchange’s greatest innovations is that we are an alternative trade organization connecting farmers and consumers directly,” said Rink Dickinson, Equal Exchange Co-Founder and President. “And it doesn’t get more direct than our Interfaith program.” Thirty years in, the program continues to support farmers and fair trade with deep community support for Equal Exchange’s mission.
Highlights from our 2026 Summit
We’ve been hosting Citizen-Consumer Summits for a decade, and this year felt especially meaningful. Our tenth year of organizing coincided with the 40th anniversary of Equal Exchange. More than 200 passionate people gathered on this occasion to reflect on what we’ve learned and discuss how we can work together to meet present challenges.
Drones Dropping Beneficial Wasps on Sugarcane Fields
A new initiative from Manduvirá cooperative in Paraguay is reimagining sustainable pest management through technology, education, and a community-informed implementation strategy.
40 Years: Risk, Networks, and Connecting the Two
Since Equal Exchange’s founding 40 years ago, the mainstream food system around us has repeatedly pursued profit-prioritizing and power-concentrating goals. Collectively, we need to show up, do our economic job, do our democracy job, have community, have fun, and disrupt this mainstream system that single-mindedly and effectively extracts.
Reflections on Co-ownership
“When I joined EE, I saw a cohort of people who were very experienced and active in the co-op. I thought to myself, “That’s so cool. In 20 years, I want to be that.” It is a personal gift from any worker-owner to the co-op when they believe, “I’m more committed to being a 20-year co-op owner than to want a certain career.” For me, it’s now more about being here at this co-op than whatever role I may be holding at a given moment.”
Cooperative Trainings in Soil and Community Resilience
Much like a mother fungus catalyzes a waterfall of positive effects for the soil beneath banana plants, when we patronize Rio y Valle and Equal Exchange, we feed resources into organizations who are methodically and creatively bolstering people power.
Opportunity Knocks: Women Taking the Lead
Through a gender plan and trainings, Rio y Valle created an expectation that women should participate in the project’s peer exchanges and be elected to co-op committees. Without intentionally welcoming girls and women, they rarely would be able to participate in these opportunities.
Unpacking Power Dynamics with a Banana Co-op
With buyers who see and value the unique contributions of smallholders, bananas serve as a means to a steady business that simultaneously stabilizes and revives community.
La Siembra and Equal Exchange Integrate
The worker-owners of La Siembra Cooperative Inc. and the members of the Equal Exchange Worker Cooperative have voted to merge, creating a unique model of international worker cooperation. This integration builds on the long-standing commercial and solidarity relationship between our two organizations as fair trade worker co-ops.
Pulling Through a Difficult Year in Chocolate
The food system is not set up to favor small-scale producers, small or medium independent businesses, or truly mission-based organizations. This is exactly why Equal Exchange and our network of partners and supporters do what we do: to demonstrate that another way is possible, and in fact is increasingly necessary. Our chocolate and cocoa lines faced a triple threat: high prices, scarce cocoa, and tariffs. Though stabilizing, these challenges serve as a cautionary tale.
Cooperation as a Worldview: Our Partnerships in Bolivia
Bolivia has a thriving indigenous tradition called “ayni,” a word from the Quechua and Aymara indigenous languages used by the farmers, which means “today for you, tomorrow for me.” The word describes a larger cultural perspective of mutual respect and reciprocity that was evident on a recent trip our sourcing team took to visit three producer partners in the Amazon Basin.
A Minnesotan Afternoon Tea
On a Saturday afternoon in late June, 90 people gathered for a festive Fair Trade Tea at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mankato, Minnesota.
A Tribute to the Extraordinary Phil Berry
Phil Berry, a former Equal Exchange worker-owner and long-time Interfaith and Customer Service Representative, passed away in April. Phil was a favorite of Equal Exchange customers who called and specifically asked for him. He provided great service, gave thoughtful suggestions, and in general, just cheered people up.
The Greenwashing of “Regenerative”
To ensure the regenerative movement remains authentic, we must draw on lessons from the past. What criteria can help us distinguish genuine efforts from empty rhetoric? How do we hold organizations accountable and ensure that regenerative practices drive real, systemic change? By learning from history and acting with intention, I hope we can protect this promising movement's integrity and its potential to create a just and sustainable future.
Coffee with a Story: Why the Democratic Republic of the Congo Needs Us
A few weeks ago, Equal Exchange organized a virtual event in collaboration with the Panzi Hospital. We came together to talk about the disturbing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current realities on the ground, and how the Panzi Hospital has been a beacon of light for the healing that is needed in the DRC.
The Soil Whisperers
It’s hard to talk about the coffee farmer organization COMSA in Honduras without talking about soil. And after visiting them in January, where they repeatedly astounded me, I wouldn’t want to be soil silent. To the contrary, I hope to share a few insights to spread my newfound soil enthusiasm.
We Lost USAID Funding, but We’re Keeping the Work Alive
What would you do if you had the chance to apply to the US government for a $4 million grant? Back in 2010, we had this chance, and frankly, we were on the fence. After serious deliberation, we decided to apply. As a result, for almost 15 years, we managed farmer-focused development projects, directing resources and programming to small farmer co-ops and their members, with undeniably positive results. We were poised to implement the next wave of this work until, in February this year, the US government abruptly terminated USAID awards like ours.
Takeaways From Our Trip to the Coffeelands of Colombia
We took a group of food co-op partners, wholesale accounts, and consumers to visit the farmers of ASPROCAFE Ingruma, a co-op that’s bucking the norm in Colombia to grow coffee organically. These are their takeaways, in their own words.
Update on Palestinian Farmers in the West Bank
Equal Exchange Olive Oil and Medjool Dates from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) come from small farmers in the West Bank. PARC shares an update on what the situation has been like for farmers in the West Bank after October 7th, in 2024 and so far in 2025.