Costa Rica
Corporations, Communities & the Consequences of Coffee
Program Director: Max Savishinsky ~ Latin American Studies
Dates of Instruction: August 20 to September 14
Coffee is 2nd only to petroleum in world market value with the US consuming 1/5 of the world's annual production. A world crash in coffee prices, trade issues and environmental abuse have taken a severe toll on the welfare of farmers, animals and the land in developing countries, where most coffee is produced. This program will examine the continuum, contrasts and consequences of coffee production in and between two of the most important coffee countries, Costa Rica & the U.S. Beginning in Seattle, home to major coffee companies students will be oriented to the topics at hand through meetings, lectures and discussions with representatives from the domestic coffee industry, “front-line” coffee workers, consumers, and some of those behind new efforts at corporate social responsibility in the industry.
The program will then travel to Costa Rica to explore coffee farming, roasting, packaging, marketing and exporting though visits to corporate coffee farms and small cooperatives. We will explore the agricultural, industrial and economic aspects of coffee production, and talk with individuals and organizations at the forefront of efforts to improve the economic, social and environmental realities of the coffee industry. We will also look back at coffee in the U.S, conduct interviews and keep journals on our own experiences, to help us answer to the core questions of this seminar:
- Where does coffee come from?
- How is it produced, why do we drink it and pay so much for it?
- What do “organic”, “shade grown”, and “fair trade” mean in terms of coffee, and why should we care?
- How effectively do these practices protect farmers, wildlife and the earth, and promoting sustainability?
- Why do so many coffee farmers live in poverty when Seattleites make good money through coffee jobs and investments, and pay three times for a cup what a farmer gets paid to grow a pound?
- What can we do – as coffee consumers, employees, investors – to make the system fair & sustainable
Participants will earn 5 credits of SISLA 399, Study Abroad: Latin American Studies. Participants should check with their advisors to determine how these credits can count towards departmental requirements.
Student Costs:
$ 2,550 Program fee
$ 200 IPE Fee
Additional costs include round trip travel to Costa Rica, health insurance and vaccines, some meals, course materials and personal expenses. The program will provide participants with approximately two meals a day.
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