This year, with global trade issues so much in the news, it's more important than ever to show your support for Fair Trade. In this issue of Fair Grounds, you'll find out about Global Exchange's Fair Trade Challenge, which includes a load of great resources. We've also got a staff update, a Community Caravan, a Fellow Fair Trader spotlight plus a new trivia question, recipe and Fair Trade fact. It's a jam-packed issue! Kick back and read on!

Speaking of the holidays, if you'd like to send someone you love (or like a whole bunch) a gift of Fair Trade coffee, keep in mind that Wednesday, December 17th, is the last day to order from Café Campesino for guaranteed delivery (using standard UPS) by Christmas Day. After that, we can still get your order to its destination, but you're shipping options will be limited (and more expensive). So order today!

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As many of you have noticed, Café Campesino has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two years and because of this, we've introduced a new ordering system designed specifically for the coffee business. On December 1, we opened the virtual doors to our new web store. An added feature of the system includes establishing an account and password for you, allowing you to place repeat orders faster. Also, anyone can now set up an automatic shipment in our Coffee Club by clicking the "Club" link within the store. Come on in, take a look around and give our new store a try! All orders placed on or before Wednesday, December 17, should arrive by Christmas. www.cafecampesino.com/store

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With the holidays approaching, many of us will be buying gifts for friends and loved ones. As people who are concerned about people all over the world, we may find ourselves wondering how to make sure we spend our dollars ethically, and ensure that the gifts we give benefit those who made them as well as those who receive them. Thankfully, lots of great purchasing alternatives exist, such as Fair Trade coffee and chocolate, and fairly traded goods from around the world.

This holiday season, Global Exchange is issuing the Fair Trade Challenge – buy ALL of your holiday gifts from Fair Trade sources! Read on to find out why Fair Trade is so important, where to find fair trade goods, and how to get involved in Fair Trade action.

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Once again Geoffrey and a fantastic brew crew had a busy weekend in Columbus, Georgia, serving coffee to the 10,000 or so activists gathered there to ask for the closure of the School of the Americas (now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). More information is available at http://www.soaw.org/. We encourage your support. With much thanks to Roy Lanham and his crew from Eastern Illinois's Newman Catholic Center (http://www.eiu-newman.org), the folks at Koinonia (http://koinoniapartners.org), including the chairman of their board Phil Gillis and his wife, and of course Kristin, Dave and Kelly from Sentient Bean in Savannah (http://www.sentientbean.com), we managed to serve thousands of cups of coffee, raise awareness about Fair Trade, and raise over $1400 for SOA Watch.

This week Geoffrey is serving coffee to the employees at Habitat for Humanity International as a fundraiser for the local Habitat affiliate. He is also serving coffee at the DVD premier of "Briars in the Cotton Patch: The Story of Koinonia Farms" http://www.briarsdocumentary.com

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Founded in 1949 by the Church of the Brethren, Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation Vocation (or SERRV) started as a way to help refugees in post-WWII Europe. SERRV is a nonprofit alternative trade organization that promotes social and economic justice for people in developing regions of the world by marketing their handcrafts and food products in a just and direct manner. Although SERRV now has partnerships with many artisans who are not refugees, the acronym has been retained.

SERRV is a fellow member of the Fair Trade Federation and a pioneer in the Fair Trade world. Take a look at their excellent products at http://serrv.org.

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Think you know a lot about coffee? Then enter our Fair Grounds Trivia Contest. Click here for our question of the month. Entering is easy and it's FUN!

Last month we asked, "Which geographic region boasts the world's highest per capita annual coffee consumption?" Our judges thought you'd be left out in the cold and completely in the dark on this one. Especially this time of year. Finally, the judges made it through all the answers, and aided by the Northern Lights, a prune Danish, a few Swedish meatballs and a Norse God or two, were able to select Scott Hall as the official winner. Congratulations, Scott!

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"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."

— Edward R Murrow

• November 2003 Fair Trade: More Than Just a Fair Price; Fellow Fair Traders: Lucuma Designs
• October 2003 Exploring the Coffee Regions
• September 2003 Cooperative Coffees Annual Meeting
• August 2003 Fair Trade Friends: Oxfam America; The Art (and Science) of Roasting Coffee
• July 2003 Exploring Our Origins: Sumatra
• June 2003 Exploring Our Origins: Guatemala; Gayo Mountain Adventure; Dr. Coffee - Cupping
• May 2003 Fair Trade Friends: United Students for Fair Trade; World Fair Trade Day
• April 2003 Exploring Our Origins: Ethiopia; Celebrating Earth Day with Fair Trade
• March 2003 Bill's Central American Adventures, Part 2; SWP Decaffeination
• February 2002 Bill's Central American Adventures, Part 1
• January 2003 My Life as a Bean
• December 2002 Exploring Our Origins: East Timor; Sustainable Development
• November 2002 New Website; Gift Baskets
• October 2002 Interview with roaster Lee Harris
• September 2002 ForesTrade Wins UN Sustainability Award; Exploring Our Origins: Sumatra's Gayo Cooperative
• August 2002 Producer News: Shade Grown; Fair Trade Friends: Atlanta Audubon
• July 2002 Exploring Our Origins: Colombia
• June 2002 Back Roads Journal: Cooperative Coffees and Café Campesino; Exploring Our Origins: Peru; Fair Trade Friends: Music of the Andes
• May 2002 Staff Notes: Cinco de Mayo; Producer News: Visit to Mut Viz; Back Roads Journal: SCAA Meeting
• April 2002 Back Roads Journal: Travels in Fair Trade; Customer Composting Tip