Visiting coffeee growers from Nicaragua

8 & 9 March 2006

JANIXCE FLORIAN & FELICITY BUTLER - VISIT TO LEICESTER

Janixce and Felicity did us proud on their packed 2 day visit to Leicester.

They were met at Leicester station by members of the Leicester Masaya Link Group. After lunch, a brief tour of Leicester included a visit to JUST, Leicester’s newly refurbished fair-trade shop. Both Janixce and Felicity expressed their surprise and delight to find such a wide range of high quality products for sale and were especially pleased to see that ‘Las Nubes’ coffee, which is produced by Cecocafen in Matagalpa where Felicity works, was available.

The shop was the setting for a pre-recorded interview for Leicester Sound which was broadcast on the Drivetime programme on 9 March, with clips airing every half hour from 6am - 9am to c 50,000 listeners.

A stroll through Leicester city centre, taking in the market, the Cathedral and the Guildhall took them to the state-of-the-art offices of BBC Radio Leicester where Janixce and Felicity talked animatedly about the lives of coffee producers in Nicaragua in a 15 minute interview with Martin Ballard. The interview, going out to Radio Leicester’s 35,000 listeners a day, was recorded for the Leicester Masaya Link Group archives.

In the evening, Janixce and Felicity were hosted by the Leicester Advocating Fairtrade coalition at Trinity Life Church Community Centre in Highfields. The evening was introduced by Councillor Manjoola Sood, a vociferous supporter of fair trade and recently awarded the accolade of Women of the Year. Illustrating the significance of International Women’s Day, Janixce spoke passionately about the women in the Sopexca co-operative to an audience of 25 people who listened intently as they enjoyed a cup of Nicaraguan coffee and home-baked cakes (made with fair-trade ingredients). The talk elicited a lively question and answer session, with many people staying on to talk to Janixce in smaller groups.

On Thursday 9 March, Janixce and Felicity were invited to talk to a group of 18 year 10 and 11 students at the City of Leicester College. This event was the culmination of a 2 week project looking at fair trade issues as part of a collaboration between the RE department and Business Studies, supported by the education officer from JUST. During a 2 hour session, the students completed a quiz about Nicaragua, initially using the internet and then discussing their findings with Janixce and Felicity. There was a great deal of interest in what school life is like in Nicaragua. The students, including some who are learning Spanish, then had a chance to see the Coffee - Take it Fairly video. This was very well received and it was clear from the questions that followed that the students began to understand some of the challenges that Nicaraguan coffee producers face but they were also impressed by the impact that the co-operatives and the fair trade process has on their lives.

The morning ended with lunch which included a taste of Leicester’s typical fare - samosas and pakoras as well as fresh fruit and fair-trade orange juice.

The LMLG is grateful to all those who provided support in Leicester by offering transport, accommodation, sightseeing tours, venue arrangements and publicity. The visit was organised by the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign and funded by the Department for International Development.