Glenn scorn on Tim Cavanaugh at Reason for scoffing at tourists returning to South Asia, and Roger Simon chimes his agreement with a personal beach recommendation for Thailand. Both point out that charity is good, but commerce is better.
These exchanges reminded me of an idea I had an idea earlier today, and was considering trying to put some effort into it, but I think in these times its best not to wait; and so I’ll ‘donate’ it (half-baked) to the blogosphere.
My question is this: alongside efforts to solicit direct aid for victims, what about collecting a list of products and services that come from the affected areas?
As a Starbucks-aholic, I must admit that when I think “Sumatra” I think coffee. But I honestly have no idea if Starbucks’ Sumatra blend actually does come from Sumatra, and if much (or any) of the money I give them each morning ends up there.
Anybody have any ideas/suggestions on things we can buy that flow money back into that region of South Asia? Send ’em here and I’ll post them — or if you’ve got more ambition/time, build your own list, and I’ll link to it!
Update: This concept appears to be gaining some momentum (Thanks, Glenn!), so I’m reformatting this post into a directory of products/services that have been suggested thus far. Please keep them coming!
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Coffee
There are a ton of places to get coffee which originates in Sumatra. It is my assumption that “fair trade” coffee is the best choice if the goal is to ensure that as much of your money as possible ends up with the local growers in the region.
To that end, there seems to be two major groups that confer “fair trade” status on coffee: TransFair USA and the Fair Trade Federation.
Here are some coffees that I’ve found available online that are declared to be “fair trade” by one or the other of these groups:
Baronet Coffee Fair Trade Sumatra
Buck’s County Coffee Fair Trade Sumatra
Cafe Ibis Organic Gayo Mountain Sumatra
Cafe Ibis Organic Highland Sumatra Dark
Cafe Moto Organic Fair Trade Sumatra
Capricorn Coffees Sumatra Organic Fair Trade
Coffee and Tea Ltd Sumatra Takengon
Mailordercoffee.com Sumatra Gayo Mountain Organic Fair Trade
Coffee-Tea-Etc Sumatra Dark Roast Organic Fair Trade
Daybreak Coffee Roasters Sumatra Organic Fair Trade
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technology meets creativity in a disaster-prone world. confident enough to try; humble enough to learn.