
Coffee and Community
Maya Farmers and Fair-Trade Markets
Sarah Lyon(Author)
University Press of Colorado
Published on 29. October 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-1-60732-057-9 (ISBN)
Description
We are told that simply by sipping our morning cup of organic, fair-trade coffee we are encouraging environmentally friendly agricultural methods, community development, fair prices, and shortened commodity chains. But what is the reality for producers, intermediaries, and consumers? This ethnographic analysis of fair-trade coffee analyzes the collective action and combined efforts of fair-trade network participants to construct a new economic reality.Focusing on La Voz Que Clama en el Desierto-a cooperative in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala-and its relationships with coffee roasters, importers, and certifiers in the United States, Coffee and Community argues that while fair trade does benefit small coffee-farming communities, it is more flawed than advocates and scholars have acknowledged. However, through detailed ethnographic fieldwork with the farmers and by following the product, fair trade can be understood and modified to be more equitable.
This book will be of interest to students and academics in anthropology, ethnology, Latin American studies, and labor studies, as well as economists, social scientists, policy makers, fair-trade advocates, and anyone interested in globalization and the realities of fair trade. Winner of the Society for Economic Anthropology Book Award
This book will be of interest to students and academics in anthropology, ethnology, Latin American studies, and labor studies, as well as economists, social scientists, policy makers, fair-trade advocates, and anyone interested in globalization and the realities of fair trade. Winner of the Society for Economic Anthropology Book Award
Reviews / Votes
"Informative and important."-Patrick Staib, Journal of Anthropological Research
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Colorado
United States
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 to 99 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
387 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-60732-057-9 (9781607320579)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Sarah Lyon
Coffee and Community
E-Book
05/2011
University Press of Colorado
€38.49
Available for download
Person
Sarah Lyon is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Kentucky. Her interests lie at the intersection of culture, agriculture, consumption, and the global economy.