BUSINESS
Posted on Fri, Jul. 22, 2005
Contra Café stirs critics on the left
A New Hampshire company selling coffee grown by Nicaragua's former contra fighters has found that the political terrain is rattling its marketing efforts.
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@herald.com
Tom Kilroy knew breaking into the U.S. market with organic Nicaraguan coffee would be a struggle. But ever since the 27-year-old Dartmouth graduate launched Contra Café -- Wake up with Freedom Fighters!, he's been taking his coffee with flack.
The beans are grown in the highlands of Nicaragua by former contra guerrillas -- the U.S.-backed fighters who tried to topple the country's Marxist Sandinista government in the 1980s.
While the contras were a cause célbre for many during the Reagan era, their legacy is tainted by the Iran-contra scandal and accusations of human rights abuses.
''When we first launched [in April], word spread more on liberal blogs,'' Kilroy said. ``I've gotten a fair amount of unhappy e-mail . . . to the effect that this is a really bad idea.''
So far, Kilroy's Hanover, N.H., company is struggling, averaging sales of just 15 pounds a week.
FAIR TRADE?
Retailing for $10 a pound on its website www.contracafe.com, the company pays the farmers $1.50 a pound -- more than market rates and more than what's known as fair-trade, or socially responsible, prices.
In addition, Contra Café gives 50 percent of its profits back to the farmers.
Mixing coffee and causes isn't new, but in Nicaragua the cause has usually been on the other side of the political spectrum. During the height of the Sandinista-contra civil war -- which eventually killed between 30,000 and 50,000 people -- American and European volunteers formed coffee-picking brigades to help the Sandinista government bring in its harvest.
Even today, some of the country's best-known coffee cooperatives are run by former Sandinistas.
''Fair-trade coffee [in Nicaragua] has always been in the hands of the left,'' said José Adán López, the president of the farming cooperative that supplies Contra Café. ``We decided why not try to sell to those on the right? In Miami, there are a lot of former contra [supporters] that can help us by buying this coffee.''
I am sick of the propaganda hangover from the 80's - which even mainstream media perpetrates to this day about the anti-Sandinista rebels. Yes, they were supported by Reagan, but the bottom line is that more than 15,000 Nicaraguans were so enraged as Sandinista stupidity that they took up arms against them. Nicaragua had tens of thousands of small holdings, due to the relatively large amount of land available relative to the population. And it was mostly these small farmers and peasants in the North of the country, who could not stand the Sandinista government.
Do any of the Benjamin Linder wannabees, really know, the kind of crap that many of these small farmers went through at Sandinista hands? The government killed the small coffee owners cooperatives leader Jorge Salazar early on. They ruined the areas economy breaking the long-standing distribution networks of rural areas beholding small farmers to the central government, at the insistence of their Cuban economic advisors. Eventually they confiscated small holdings To make matters worse they also tried spreading their ideological stupidity, which was anathema to many highly devout Catholic and Protestant farmers. All this interference with their livelihoods and private life sparked massive resistance in the highly independent inhabitants of the North.
So just who are these coffee farmers?
For Kilroy, Contra Café is more about the people than the politics. After visiting Nicaragua in 2003 as a volunteer with TechnoServe, a U.S. nonprofit group, he was moved by the economic plight of the coffee farmers in the northern province of Jinotega and decided to help.
The farmers hope to use the profits from Contra Café to build houses and provide healthcare for some of their 250 members.
Bottom line, the folks fighting against the Sandinistas were poor rural people - the type the left claims to fight for. These coffee growers did what they thought was right. When the small stakeholders in El Chapare in Bolivia do it, it is right, when the enemy is Marxist Leninist it is wrong. Now these poor folks in Nicaragua want a fair wage so they can build houses and get health care.
Those 1980s' era Sandalistas in the U.S. should be FORCED to buy this coffee, since they were intellectual collaborators and enablers of Sandinista STUPIDITY!! Supporting Marxist-Leninists in the Cold War was STUPID AND CRIMINAL! Stupid because even then it was obvious that the nonesense didn't work, criminal because supporting evil Marxist-Leninists during the Cold War was plain wrong. How anyone could wish this upon the Nicaraguan peasantry was inexcusable. How can these people even try to perpetuate these lies???
My advice to the Contra Cafe people: Get rid of the Ollie North crap - he is a liar, but keep on selling it. Oh, by the way, all those Republicans who ever made noise about supporting the Contras - the types who forgot what Nicaragua even was for the past 15 years. -You know who you are- You better buckle up and buy this coffee NOW!!! If you can pay for guns, you can pay for poor folks coffee.
50 comments:
I remember a late 80s university faculty office door completely covered with pro-Sandanista stuff. The most prominent was BUY NICARAGUAN COFFEE! I'll have to buy a pound of this just because of that. But as believer in markets, it will have to be good to keep buying it.
Freaking awesome. I don't really drink coffee, but if I did, I'd buy some.
It's Nicaraguan, so it's guaranteed good coffee. Even if sandalistas grew it it would probably be good. But this coffee is not only good, it's a good cause. And Boli-Nica, you favorite blogger of mine, you have an Instalanche!
http://instapundit.com/archives/024422.php
cheers!
I ordered. Nice cause.
I just got mine. It's really good! Very yummy!
Hio),
In my books, you�re the best! Hope you have more details soon!
Regards,
delicate
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on mlm lead and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for mlm lead related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hello Boli-Nica, I’m just searching the web for the next big thing on internet home business idea and noticed your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t actually what I was looking for it DID get my attention and interest. I see now why I found your great
website when I was searching for internet home business idea related information and I’m thankful I found your blogsite even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thanks for the read (It’s a keeper).
Hey Boli-Nica, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
32venture.com but glad I droped by. Way to go.
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on company marketing network top and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for company marketing network top related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.
Hello there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for a good blog experience on mlm lead and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I’m looking for it certainly got my attention and interest. I see now why I found your excellent blog-site when I was searching for mlm lead related web sites and I’m glad I found your site even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thank you for the read.
Hey Boli-Nica, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
company marketing network top but glad I droped by. Way to go.
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on add link marketing network and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for add link marketing network related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on 17gain.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for 17gain.com related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hey Boli-Nica, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
business home mlm opportunity work but glad I droped by. Way to go.
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on workathome.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for workathome.com related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on 75future.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for 75future.com related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on cost en language low mlm and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for cost en language low mlm related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.
Hey Boli-Nica, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
en language marketing network but glad I droped by. Way to go.
Hi there Boli-Nica, nice site looks like you did your
homework. I would love if you check out my network marketing site.
Thanks for the info. network marketing
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on cost en language low mlm and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for cost en language low mlm related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest
and greatest information on homebiz7.com and found your
great site. Although this post wasn’t specifically
what I was looking for it definitely got my interest
and attention. I see now why I found your interesting
blog when I was looking for homebiz7.com related
information and I’m grateful I found your site even
though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks
for your informative site,
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on lead mlm and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for lead mlm related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hello Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing the web for the latest information on 19work.com and noticed your nice site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly got my attention. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for 19work.com related information and I’m thrilled I found your web site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site.
Hi Boli-Nica, just looking around for some personal finance mlm info but
glad I dropped by. Check out my personal finance mlm site if you
get a chance.
Thanks for the read.
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on 17gain.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for 17gain.com related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hey Boli-Nica, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
network marketing but glad I droped by. Way to go.
Hi I like your blog, you can visit my web page if you like.based business home idea latesthttp://www.moneywebpage.combased business home idea latest
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on bioperformance and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for bioperformance related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on 4 ecorp and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for 4 ecorp related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest and greatest information on 15work.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically what I was looking for it definitely got my interest and attention. I see now why I found your interesting blog when I was looking for 15work.com related information and I’m grateful I found your site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site
Hello Boli-Nica, I’m just searching the web for the next big thing on enviromax plus and noticed your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t actually what I was looking for it DID get my attention and interest. I see now why I found your great
website when I was searching for enviromax plus related information and I’m thankful I found your blogsite even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thanks for the read (It’s a keeper).
Hi Boli-Nica, I’m out searching the web for the latest
and greatest information on increase gas milage and found your
great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t specifically
what I was looking for it definitely got my interest
and attention. I see now why I found your interesting
blog when I was looking for increase gas milage related
information and I’m grateful I found your site even
though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks
for your informative site,
Hello there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for a good blog experience on mlm opportunity and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I’m looking for it certainly got my attention and interest. I see now why I found your excellent blog-site when I was searching for mlm opportunity related web sites and I’m glad I found your site even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thank you for the read.
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on bioperformance and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for bioperformance related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on personal finance mlm and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for personal finance mlm related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on 30biz.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for 30biz.com related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hi Boli-Nica, just looking around for some homebiz7 info but
glad I dropped by. Check out my homebiz7 site if you
get a chance.
Thanks for the read.
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on cost en language low mlm and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for cost en language low mlm related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.
Hello there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for a good blog experience on 19work.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I’m looking for it certainly got my attention and interest. I see now why I found your excellent blog-site when I was searching for 19work.com related web sites and I’m glad I found your site even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thank you for the read.
Hello there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for a good blog experience on workathome.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I’m looking for it certainly got my attention and interest. I see now why I found your excellent blog-site when I was searching for workathome.com related web sites and I’m glad I found your site even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thank you for the read.
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on en language marketing network and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for en language marketing network related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hello Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing the web for the latest information on homebiz8.com and noticed your nice site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly got my attention. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for homebiz8.com related information and I’m thrilled I found your web site even though its not a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for your informative site.
Hi there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for the latest information on business home mlm and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for business home mlm related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,
Hello Boli-Nica, I’m just searching the web for the next big thing on 31biz.com and noticed your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t actually what I was looking for it DID get my attention and interest. I see now why I found your great
website when I was searching for 31biz.com related information and I’m thankful I found your blogsite even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thanks for the read (It’s a keeper).
Hello there Boli-Nica, I’m out surfing for a good blog experience on 75future.com and found your great site. Although CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! wasn’t exactly what I’m looking for it certainly got my attention and interest. I see now why I found your excellent blog-site when I was searching for 75future.com related web sites and I’m glad I found your site even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thank you for the read.
Hey there Boli-Nica, I was looking for an educational blog experience on based business home marketing network and I found your blog-site. CONTRA COFFEE - COMPRELO!! isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for based business home marketing network related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.
Post a Comment