High Quality Tea, from Leaf to Cup

Tea provides a taste of place – the growing region’s soil and elevation, its rainfall, the season. Cultivating it requires hard work and skill. And it’s a crop which can be vulnerable to climatic variation and environmental pollutants. That’s why we source 100% organic tea from small scale farmer co-ops. Processing and packaging steps maintain its high quality. And we want to help you learn to store and brew your tea in a way that brings out its best characteristics.

Shop Fair Trade and Organic Tea >>

Step 1: Growing and Harvesting

Both green tea and black tea comes from the same plant. Native to Asia, Camellia sinensis thrives in tropical and subtropical climates. Our small-scale farmer partners in India and Sri Lanka know what they’re doing. Their communities have grown this crop for generations. Our partners — TPI in India and BioFoods in Sri Lanka — provide farmers with agricultural support.

When tea is produced conventionally, chemical residue can end up in the cup. Nobody wants to drink that! All Equal Exchange teas are certified organic. Instead of spraying chemical pesticides and fertilizers, our partners use natural pest deterrents, companion planting, and composting to make sure their tea plants remain healthy. These practices are better for worker safety and for the surrounding natural environment and eco-system. And we believe they lead to a high quality cup of tea.

In some parts of the world, the tea harvest is mechanized. But our partners, often located in the most remote places, continue to pluck tea by hand – selecting only two leaves and the fresh bud to ensure the finest quality. That means a human being with knowledge and experience selects each leaf that gets plucked. In our supply chain, women typically do this work.

A group of women harvest fair trade tea on a green hillside in India
Tea pluckers in India harvest their crop.

Step 2: Processing, Shipment and Quality Control

Tea must be processed within hours of plucking to maintain its high quality. Equal Exchange tea is prepared using the orthodox method. This involves a series of precise and traditional steps focused on preserving the characteristics of the tea leaf. It’s slower than the more mechanized CTC (cut, tear curl) method, but the quality is far better. Workers wither the leaves, steam or roll them, and control the level of oxidation to determine if the finished product will be black tea or green tea. Then, they fire the leaves to halt oxidation.

View the Infographic to learn more about the steps!

When processing is complete, workers sort the tea leaves by size and grade and seal the loose leaves into large tea sacks for storage or shipment. Equal Exchange employees “cup” the tea (a process of tasting tea)  and select every lot that we purchase.

Equal Exchange tea utilizes a dual-chamber tea bag for a better steep. The bag is a special blend of abaca (a relative of the banana tree family). It’s free of potential adulterants like plastic and chlorine bleach. We’ve chosen an organic cotton string that’s attached to the bag without the need for glue or a metal staple. We don’t want anything to flavor your brew but tea!

Rows of white china cups hold different grades of organic tea
Tea is cupped in Sri Lanka

Step 3: Your turn!

After you buy tea, proper storage and brewing techniques will help you get the best taste. Store your tea away from heat, light and moisture. When you’re ready to brew a cup, make sure to use the right temperature water for the variety of tea you’ve selected! Learn more! In this video, Equal Exchange Food Safety Coordinator D Walls demonstrates their tips for brewing green tea, black tea and herbal tea correctly:

Now that you know how our farmer partners produce and harvest this organic tea, how we prepare it for sale and how best to brew it, only one step remains. Enjoy!

 

 

Pop-Up Fair Trade Stores on Campus

Campuses are full of change-makers and activists like you, making them the perfect locations for hosting successful Fair Trade sales. Setting up a pop-up store on your campus can be a fundraising opportunity for departments and clubs, or just a great way to raise awareness about socially responsible consumerism.

Get inspired to host your own sale by two schools that have done successful campus sales, Manhattan College and Bryant University.

Equal Exchange Coffee = Fair Trade Fuel!

At Manhattan College in New York, the School of Business teamed up with Campus Ministry and Social Action for a Fair Trade pop-up store on campus during Christmastime. Manhattan College was the first Fair Trade Certified College in New York City, which means they must carry a certain number of items in their cafeterias and in their bookstore that were produced by farmers and artisans who receive fair wages and can perform their duties in a safe working environment. Aileen Farrelly, assistant professor and assistant dean in the School of Business, said, “Fair Trade embodies our Lasallian values, is critical to the College’s mission, and using fair trade products to launch this project helped our students learn about all aspects of running a business.” The pop-up store was called Fair Trade Fuel and students were responsible for accounting and financing, marketing and publicity.  They sold chocolate, crafts, and clothing to their campus community over the course of three days. It was so successful that they held another sale around Valentine’s Day, selling Fair Trade chocolate and flowers. 

Social Change Marketplace. Photo courtesy of Bryant University.

Bryant University in Rhode Island set up a Social Change Marketplace, the first student-run program of its kind in the country. Local social enterprises are invited to participate as vendors selling their products on campus for a day in December. The pop-up holiday marketplace encourages conscious consumerism during the gift-giving season, and all products featured have a positive social impact. Companies each have their own table set up and talk with students about what makes their products special.  The popularity of the Marketplace on campus inspired a corporate event at Fidelity Investments and the student organizers shared their successes at the Campus Compact National Conference where colleges and universities gather to build democracy through community development. 

Equal Exchange is an ideal partner for groups who are interested in hosting similar pop-up sales. We offer wholesale case pricing to organizations that want to sell organic coffee (in packages or freshly brewed at a coffee kiosk), tea, chocolate bars, olive oil and cocoa. You choose which products you want to sell, buy them by the case, then mark up the products to prices that can either help you reach your fundraising goals or just covers your costs and promotes Fair Trade. 

We even provide best selling product suggestions, pricing recommendations, and promotional materials to help make your sale a success!  Our customer service team is available M-F 9-5 Eastern at 774-776-7366 to help.

Here are our top tips for planning a pop-up sale on campus:

1- Plan early: For a November or December sale, start planning in October so you can reserve a location with lots of foot traffic and coordinate with vendors or wholesalers. Choose a date or a series of dates when people are most likely to shop.  If planning a sale seems intimidating, start small by reserving a table at an existing gift fair. You’ll benefit from the excitement that’s already there. Other popular times to have a fair trade sale are  when people are looking for ethically-sourced chocolate like right before Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

Photo courtesy of Bryant University.

2- Recruit a strong team: Find volunteers who are interested in social justice but also look for helpers who are studying finances, accounting, sales and marketing. Put a call out for help on Facebook and at the school’s Volunteer or Ministries fair.  Professors are also great mentors to help guide you.

3-Add in multiple vendors and brands: Many other Fair Trade brands offer similar wholesale arrangements for event sales so you can have a variety of products for shoppers to choose from – find them here.

4- Invite the community: Opening up the sale to the public, if you’re able to, is a good way to increase foot traffic. Promote the sale on campus radio, social media, the school newspaper, and get it in the local media too. If your event is a fundraiser, we’ve created social media graphics you can use. If you’re just promoting fair trade and ethical consumerism these graphics are great to customize your own promotional ad. Doing interviews and explaining why this sale is special will draw shoppers who are looking for unique gifts that are also doing good in the world.

5-Align your sale with activism-focused events: Some of the best and most effective Fair Trade sales happen during Fair Trade Month in October, World Fair Trade Day in May, and Earth Day in April because they capitalize on existing publicity around social, economic and environmental justice.


We’ve got more ideas for Fair Trade events and fundraisers that work great for campus groups!

Ready to get started? Sign your organization up  and order products by the case for wholesale prices.

Why Switch to Fair Trade, Organic Coffee?

When it comes to drinking ethically-sourced coffee, you have a choice if you’re at home, but how can you get your church, office, or school to start serving Equal Exchange’s organic, fairly traded coffee?

Based on the questions that come up most often, here are talking points to help energize them to take action.

“Why should we switch our coffee?”

Equal Exchange coffee is better for farmers, better for the environment and better for those who appreciate high-quality, organically grown coffee. Choosing fairly traded, organic coffee has a real and meaningful impact in all three areas. If your members want to promote social justice, environmental sustainability and fair trading relationships, Equal Exchange offers an affordable way to connect your values with your actions without sacrificing taste and quality. Share this display sign with your group.

Talking Points Table Sign

“Why Equal Exchange over of a different brand?”

Equal Exchange is a worker-owned cooperative started in 1986 with a mission to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate the contribution of worker cooperatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world. Is your current coffee company 100% dedicated to doing the same?

Equal Exchange offers organic, ethically sourced products that you can find in natural grocery stores and cafes, but we offer wholesale case pricing so you can access great prices on coffee, tea, chocolate and more for serving and fundraising. Buying from Equal Exchange, who trades directly with small-scale farmer cooperatives, ensures that more of the money you spend on coffee and other products reaches the hardworking farmers who actually grow them.  Introduce Equal Exchange’s mission with this 2 minute video

“Is Fair Trade coffee really that different from non-Fair Trade coffee?”

Fair Trade is a way of doing business that aims to keep small farmers an active part of the world marketplace without being at the mercy of unstable market prices. It’s not charity – it’s a sustainable and alternative trading model that helps producers make a viable living and stay on their own land while advancing many economic, social and environmental goals. Long-term trading relationships mean income that farmers can count on, year after year.

When you buy a fairly traded product it means that a stable price was paid to farmers, significantly higher than the fluctuating market price. By choosing Equal Exchange coffee, you’re supporting a different kind of business model, one without forced child labor that is based on dignity and transparency. Fair Trade premiums allow farming communities to collectively decide which development projects they want to use the money on, like improving access to clean water and education.  Small changes we can make surrounding what we choose to consume make a real impact on the quality of the lives of the producers and their families. Read a more in-depth explanation of Fair Trade principles here.

“Does it matter if coffee is organic?”

Conventional agricultural products are steeped in synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Not only does the environment suffer from this overload, but so do the people who live and work nearby. Equal Exchange products are certified organic and produced without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides. Many people don’t want to put foods grown with pesticides into their bodies and have concerns for the safety of the farmers and for the future of our planet.  For more information, read our blog posts on conventional vs organic coffee.

“I see other Fair Trade coffees at stores. How is buying from Equal Exchange different?”

There’s a big difference! Equal Exchange has been fighting for market access for small-scale farmers from the moment we were founded. We’re a worker-owned cooperative whose mission is tied to building a just food system where consumers have choices and are connected with the people in the supply chains. And Equal Exchange works with other democratically-organized farmer cooperatives. Buying coffee from one of the big guys means supporting a corporation that may have a few Fair Trade products but isn’t 100% dedicated to Fair Trade like Equal Exchange is.  

Another difference is quality and freshness! Did you know Equal Exchange expertly roasts our own coffee in Massachusetts daily with a team of quality control professionals? Each batch of coffee is “cupped” to make sure it meets the consistent and high quality standards we set for our coffees. We seal in the freshness on each package so it arrives directly from us to your door super fresh and delicious! Take a peek inside our roastery in this video.

“Can we afford Equal Exchange coffee?”

Have our wholesale price list on hand to answer this question directly. Do folks know what they pay per cup of coffee from your current coffee provider?  Some of Equal Exchange’s coffee options work out be about $0.12 per brewed cup. You won’t find specialty grade, organic, fairly traded coffee for less. Some groups afford it by collecting spare change near the coffee pot. Others organize a sale of EE products like chocolate and snacks, marking up the costs slightly, and use the profits to cover the cost of their coffee.

“How does it taste?”

We think our specialty-grade, organic coffees are all delicious in their own way, but we welcome you to read reviews from our customers to see which coffees are most popular with customers. If you’d like to speak with someone from Equal Exchange about which roast level is a good fit for you please contact 774-776-7366.

“Why does Fair Trade coffee cost more?”

In most cases Fair Trade products are priced closely to similar high-quality, organic products. At local farmers markets in the US, many people are willing to pay prices that reflect the hard work of small-scale farmers because they know the care that their community members put into the organic cultivation of food on their farms.  It makes sense to people that local farmers should make more than what it costs them to grow a product, so, the same concept should apply to products that aren’t grown locally, right? If you’re paying really cheap price for coffee or any other labor-intensive product, there’s a good chance that someone in the supply chain is being exploited. 

We believe a shift in perception of value needs to take place in the marketplace. Equal Exchange has been dedicated to creating an alternative trading model since 1986 and we are committed to continuing to build this movement.

“How do small-farmers benefit?”

In traditional supply chains, middle men take the lion’s share of the profits.  In Equal Exchange’s case, we ensure that more of the money you pay goes to the farmers because we trade directly with the farmer cooperatives. They are the ones doing the hardest work and taking most of the risk, after all! Actually, by the time you purchase from Equal Exchange, the farmers have already been paid and given pre-harvest financing so they can pay expenses well before products reach the US. A fairly traded product means that the producer has received a guaranteed minimum price for their coffee, regardless of the highs and lows of the commodities market. When the market prices are low, the price a farmer gets for their coffee harvest often doesn’t even cover the cost of production. When the market price is high, Fair Trade premiums paid to farmers increase even higher. Farmers in the Fair Trade system even get additional premiums paid to their cooperatives because they sell organic products. These premiums go towards projects that the farming communities choose to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions. Access to clean water, education, and healthcare are basic human rights everyone deserves.

To find out more about coffee pricing you can read this great blog post by Kim Coburn, one of Equal Exchange’s coffee buyers.

“Where does Equal Exchange’s coffee come from and who grows it?”

At the heart of Equal Exchange’s story is our relationship with small farmers. We work directly with over 40 small farmer co-operatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to bring you high quality, organic coffee.  We have a variety of videos to share as well as different educational resources like farmer stories on our website.

Freekeh Soup

Bowl of Freekeh Soup with Chicken
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Freekeh Soup

Course Soup
Keyword Palestinian Products

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 chicken breasts cut into cubes, optional
  • 1 cup Equal Exchange Freekeh
  • 4 cups chicken stock vegetable stock or water
  • 1 teaspoon all spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a pot add the olive oil and onions
  2. Saute the onions over medium low heat until they are transluscent
  3. Add the chicken breast cubes (if using) and cook until slightly golden brown and cooked through (5- 7 minutes)
  4. Add the Freekeh and stir for 5 minutes to toast the freekeh slightly
  5. Add the all spice, cardamom and salt
  6. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes
  7. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of PARC

Four Ways to Explain Why Fair Trade Matters

Whether you’re a longtime Equal Exchange partner or you’re brand-new around here, we’re grateful for the hard work you put into serving or selling fairly traded products from small-scale farmers. But you can’t do it alone. You need allies! You need supporters! You need other people to care as much as you do!

This blog post collects resources that will help you spread the good news to others. It’s time to celebrate your past successes and let members of your community know why purchasing ethically sourced coffee and other products is worth doing!

Try some of the following:

1. A bulletin insert/announcement flyer template

Does your congregation publish a weekly or monthly bulletin? This can be a great venue for reminding folks about the fairly traded products you sell or serve at worship or meetings. We’ve made it super-easy with a template you can customize. Download the Full-Color e-Bulletin digital template or the Printable Bulletin Template for photocopying.

Want to create your own from scratch? Read this inspiring example of a personalized message and adapt it for your next bulletin or email.

Not part of a faith-based group? Here’s a general, editable newsletter template you can share.

2. Talking Points

Even though you’re committed to supporting fair trade and organic foods, it can be hard to articulate its importance! If you need to provide a quick introduction to someone who’s new to the concept, consider referring to our handy talking points documents. When folks purchase Equal Exchange products, they make a choice that’s better for small-scale farmers, for the environment, and for their own health. Now you can quickly communicate how and why.

This short version (in full color) of our Talking Points can be displayed as a sign.

The longer version (black and white) is double-sided and includes more detail.

3. Infographics

How do you explain a complicated food system? Keep these infographics on hand! They provide a simple, visual way to present facts and show the true impact of ethical trade. Now you can go deeper into the specific issues that interest you and your community the most.

  • Compare our best-selling Organic Breakfast Blend to other coffees on the market here.
  • Find out about human rights violations in the conventional chocolate industry and how small-farmer chocolate makes a difference here.
  • Explore how coffee grown in biosphere buffer zones protects ecosystems here.
  • Demonstrate how every part of our Single Serve cups can be recycled or composted here.

4. Videos

See where our coffee and chocolate comes from and hear the voices of the farmers and quality professionals who make it possible. These videos will take you around the world and behind the scenes at our roasting facility — and will even teach you to brew better coffee at home! We find that they work great for presentations or as social media shares.

Watch our most popular videos here.

Or take a deep dive into every video we’ve shared (on YouTube) here.

A little girl holds a bag of Equal Exchange fair trade coffee.

Your work matters to everyone in our supply chains. Thanks for your support, and for getting the word out!

What have you done to tell people about why you use fair trade? What resources do you wish we offered? Let us know in the comments!

What to Say about Fair Trade in A Church Bulletin

Your church’s bulletin is a terrific way to let the people in your congregation know why you partner with Equal Exchange. And Fall is the perfect time for a reminder! But what to write?

Maybe an example will help! Here’s a bulletin insert shared by Peter Buck, who works at Equal Exchange and worships at Parish of the Sacred Heart in Roslindale, Massachusetts. Use it as inspiration. Or copy it — Peter doesn’t mind! Just insert your church’s name and the ways you serve or sell Equal Exchange in the second paragraph. Don’t forget to delete the brackets.

While you’re here, why not download the Full-Color e-Bulletin digital template or the Printable Bulletin Template to add some visual appeal to your message?

That Coffee the Hospitality Committee Buys

We’re all back from the summer. The kids are back in school, or soon will be; or our grandchildren have gone back home; and our jobs and activities are gearing up.

Here at [church name ], we’re getting back into our schedule, including [name of activity #1] and [name of activity #2], using fairly traded products from Equal Exchange.

Fellowship is important for building community; it brings us the opportunity to spend time together in the afterglow of worship. It also affords us the opportunity to build community with our neighbors across the world, by enjoying a cup of fairly traded coffee, tea or cocoa grown by small farmer communities and brought to us by Equal Exchange.

Why do we purchase our coffee from Equal Exchange?

Equal Exchange purchases coffee, tea, cocoa beans and other crops from forty communities in twenty countries. They pay a stable, above-market price; they purchase in advance of harvest (when farmers need the money) and collaborate, over the long term, in the sustainable development and empowerment of their partner communities. They sell their products through grocery stores and cafes, and through partnerships with a dozen religious denominations.

What does this have to do with church?

A lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what is written in the law. Replies the lawyer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus tells the lawyer he got it right. “And who is my neighbor?” says the lawyer.

Jesus replies with the parable of the Good Samaritan: A man is robbed, beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho. A priest and a prominent citizen of his own community both see him and cross the road to avoid getting involved. But a Samaritan, a foreigner, a member of a despised community, stops and cares for the victim. So who was the real neighbor, asks Jesus. “The one who showed him mercy” replies the lawyer. “Go and do likewise.” says Jesus. (Luke 10:25-37)

Using fairly traded coffee, tea and other products is one of the many ways we can “Go and do likewise.”

Read our other tips for spreading the word about Fair Trade.

Date Almond Truffles

An old Arabic legend tells of the Date palm’s creation: “After God had finished molding Man from Earth; He took the remaining material and shaped it into a date palm which he placed in the Garden of Paradise”. Besides its beauty, the date palm had vital importance in the pre modern economy of the Arab worlds, and has been eaten and enjoyed by man for over 7000 years. Cultivated date palms have existed in Palestine for 5,000 years. The Mediterranean climate conditions dominant in the area provide optimal conditions for growth and development of the date palm. Date palm cultivation in the Palestinian territories exists in the regions of Jericho and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

Dates are a great source or magnesium, potassium, and fiber so they pack a nutritional punch alongside their deliciousness. These date truffles reap the nutritional benefits of dates, as well as vitamin E, protein and fiber from the almonds too!

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Date Almond Truffles

Course Dessert, Snack
Keyword Palestinian Products
Servings 10 servings (2 truffles each)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Equal Exchange Medjool Dates pitted
  • 4 tbsp almond butter
  • 4 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 1-2 tbsp almond milk optional only if date paste is too stiff
  • Dash cardamom optional
  • ½ cup almonds ground
  • coconut and/or cocoa powder for rolling truffles

Instructions

  1. Grind the almonds until fine in a food processor, empty into a bowl and set aside.
  2. Now grind the pitted dates, almond butter, cocoa powder, and spices in a food processor, until a smooth paste forms. Add a tbsp at a time of almond milk if the paste is too stiff.
  3. Grease hands with olive oil to prevent sticking, and roll the date almond paste into about 20 two inch balls.
  4. Roll the truffles into the ground almonds. For variation you can also roll the truffles into coconut, or additional cocoa powder, depending on flavor preference.

Recipe Notes

Recipe & photo courtesy of Blanche, feastinthemiddleeast.com.

Reflections from CommonBound 2018

Written by Rose Smith, Megan Straughen and Frankie Pondolph

On June 22-24th workers-owners of Equal Exchange Frankie Pondolph and Rose Smith  along with Action Forum member Megan Straughen attended New Economy Coalition biennial conference, CommonBound. This year the conference was held in St. Louis, Missouri bringing together individuals over the course of three days to work towards owning our collective power and building the seeds for a new and transformative economy both locally and internationally. Below both Megan and Rose reflect on their experiences at CommonBound and what they learned to build capacity, tools and resilience for the future.

Megan Straughen

Equal Exchange Citizen-Consumer member

I was extremely grateful and honored to be invited to join Equal Exchange in St. Louis at the 2018 Commonbound Conference as a member of the Equal Exchange Action Forum. As a big believer in Equal Exchange and their mission, I’m happy to seize any opportunity in which I can spread their message a little bit further. In addition to being able to hand out tasty fair trade mangoes and nuts to grateful conference goers, I was also able to make time to attend a few sessions.

The Plenary “Owning Local Power” drew on the experience of community organizers working in different contexts to discuss strategies and approaches to building local power. It was very interesting to learn about how activists across the globe are leveraging impact to make big change. The most powerful experience I had was attending a screening of “Whose Streets?” followed by a panel discussion with community members and activists. The documentary recounts the uprising in Ferguson, MO in 2014 after the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, and is the only documentary to do so from the perspective of someone from the area. The panel discussion that followed the screening was intimate and powerful; it was incredible to hear about their experiences and what life has been like for them since 2014.

Megan (L) and Frankie (R) pictured above.

I found myself reenergized to do this work after spending time with Equal worker-owners Frankie and Rose, meeting amazing folks at the conference who are committed to building an inclusive economy, and attending sessions that taught tangible skills that can be applied in the field immediately. I was also lucky enough to connect with several folks doing amazing work where I now call home, New Orleans. Thanks to Equal Exchange for this incredible experience!

Rose Smith

Cafe Barista + Shift-Supervisor, Equal Exchange

Attending CommonBound was a wonderful experience for me. I attended several sessions with topics ranging from developing worker cooperatives to inclusive governance to feminist economies and housing justice. It was incredible to learn how well these were all connected to each other. There was a focus on the intersections of different issues and how no issue of social justice can be discussed as completely separate from any others. I learned about movements I was unfamiliar with, and the ways in which grassroots movements are enacting major change.

Rose pictured above secound from right with CommonBound attendees.

One theme throughout the discussion was learning about Just Transition. Just Transition is a model that ensures our transition into a new economy is intentionally aware of marginalization and injustice, and that every step is one that encourages equity. I was happy to participate in conversations with others where we acknowledged our privileges and discussed with those who are systematically denied access to capital how we can best reallocate resources for a more fair economy. I also want to highlight that the conference organizers devoted a lot of resources and time to the history of St. Louis. Attendees could participate in local outings that focused on art, history, and education efforts rooted in the city.

pictured above are three CommonBound organizers closing out the conference.

CommonBound was an incredible experience that connected me with amazing resources around the country, furthered my understanding of various social justice issues, and reminded me that there are so many of us out there fighting for a new world and it feels possible.

For more information on New Economy Coalition visit https://neweconomy.net/

Chocolate Date Mousse

This plant based chocolate mousse tastes sweet and creamy with no processed sugars or fats, as dates provide the natural sugars and avocados provide a creamy texture.

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Chocolate Date Mousse

Course Dessert
Keyword Avocado, Palestinian Products
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a saucepan, boil the 3 cups of water. Once boiling, turn off the heat and add the dates to soak for about 5 minutes. Drain out the water, and add the dates, nondairy milk, maple syrup if using, vanilla extract, salt, and cocoa powder to a food processor. Mix until smooth.
  2. In a separate bowl, mash the avocado well. Add the avocado to the date mixture in the food processor. Process until very smooth, adding a little more nondairy milk a teaspoon at a time if needed to get the processor blade going. Spoon into 4 dishes and chill for 2 hours.
  3. Top with raspberries or chocolate shavings before serving if desired.

Recipe Notes

This "chocolate" mousse also makes a great vegan pie filling with a no-bake nut crust topped with berries.

Recipe & photo courtesy of Blanche, feastinthemiddleeast.com.

 

Fundraising DIY: Create a Goal Board

Image is of a student coloring in thermometer on a fundraising goal board.Rally your troops to create a fundraising goal board and watch those dollars come in!

Creating a goal board as a team is a show of solidarity. It gets your group excited about your fundraiser so they can see exactly what the money means to your organization.

In addition, by showing that thermometer rising during your campaign or events, you can motivate supporters to buy more and help you reach – or exceed – your goal. So be sure to take pictures and share them frequently throughout your campaign. This invites your community to become part of your fundraiser. In turn, they’re more likely to share your news and progress. The more they share, the more people you’ll reach and the more money you can raise!

To get started, use a thermometer graphic and customize a goal board for your cause. You can order a free thermometer poster here to get started. For fair trade graphics to add, you can also print out educational resources.

The next step is to start gathering other materials. For inspiration, look at the supply list below. Keep in mind that it’s best to customize the goal board to be about your organization and what you need funding for. You can include information about your mission, Equal Exchange’s mission and anything else that will motivate!

Suggested Supplies

  • Large firm, flat surface (cork board or foam board)Image is of supplies needed to build a fundraising goal board including paper, bulletin board, scissors, etc.
  • Construction paper or wrapping paper (enough to cover surface)
  • Stapler, tape, glue stick
  • Image of a thermometer (click to download ours)
  • Scissors
  • Markers
  • Images and text explaining what your fundraiser is for
    • Tip: Use the web, magazines, post cards, photographs, drawings, newspapers, brochures, etc.
  • Information about why you’re fundraising with Equal Exchange

Once you have your supplies together, be sure to have a specific dollar amount for your goal, what you’re raising money for (example: $3,000 for new equipment) and the dates of your fundraising campaign.

DIY: Build A Fundraising Goal BoardImage shows a fundraising goal board.

  1. Lay out the construction paper or wrapping paper to cover the flat surface. Once in place, secure.
    • Cork board – secure with an open stapler
    • Foam board – secure with tape or glue sticks
  2. Arrange your components on top of the covered surface (some may require trimming or coloring)
  3. When it all looks good, attach all the components about the fundraiser to the covered surface
  4. Encourage your team to write personal notes or include images of what the funding means to them
  5. Photograph the goal board and share with your participants and supporters
  6. Get updates from your fundraising participants frequently throughout campaign, so you can track the campaign’s progress on the goal board by filling in the thermometer.
  7. Repeat step 5 several times throughout your campaign.

Good luck with your fair trade fundraiser!

Thank you for fundraising with Equal Exchange’s products. Remember, the more you raise, the more you’re supporting authentic fair trade.