Beyond Fair Trade: How One Small Coffee Company Helped Transform a Hillside Village in Thailand
About this book
“A rich and resonantly detailed account of an unlikely partnership that enabled the hard-working tribespeople of a remote coffee-growing village in Thailand to emerge from poverty and obscurity to success in the refined new world of fine coffee.” —Coffee ReviewA multi-faceted, inspiring narrative of a coffee company whose practices have redefined the concept of fair trade.The Akha hill Tribe of Thailand has a long, tumultuous history. Politics, economics, and land development consistently worked against the Akha’s desire to move away from their dependency on opium production and create a stable future for their children. That all changed in 2006 when prominent businessman John Darch met with entrepreneur Wicha Promyong. Their meeting resulted in the establishment of an equal partnership business venture that goes beyond fair trade: the Doi Chaang Coffee Company. Beyond Fair Trade tells the story of the growth of this unique partnership, its successes and challenges, and the people behind it.