Return to Rwanda

In a post dated April 25, 2006, I wrote "Are Rwandan coffee growers benefiting fairly from Starbuck's new 'Black Apron Exclusive' offer of Rwandan Blue Bourbon coffee?"

I remember wanting to take a weekend to visit the coffee farmers to find out their perspective, but I never managed to make the time. I didn't expect then that I would be returning to Rwanda three years later, with the sole purpose of speaking to coffee farmers to understand the impact of Fair Trade certification from their perspective. My initial questioning of the impact of Canadian coffee purchases on farmers in Rwanda has turned into a Masters Degree.

And so I return to Rwanda on Saturday to continue my story there. I will try to keep an updated account of that story here for you.