I’d like to start by thanking you for being concerned with building a better, fairer and more sustainable world. I’d also like to take this opportunity to tell you about my commitments and actions.

For me, equity, justice, integrity and respect for people and nature are an integral part of my personal philosophy and are core values in my work as a buyer for Terra Coffee and Tea and in the company’s operating and management principles.

In particular, when I purchase coffee beans, I’m usually in direct contact with the farmers who grew them, and I offer up to 80% above regular market prices. My primary focus is the excellence of the product but my second consideration is that the farmer (or cooperative) will be using the price bonus in a socially responsible way. This approach enables me to make the best coffee available while providing tangible assistance directly to farmers, their families and their communities.

I often provide other forms of assistance such as paying for my purchases several months in advance (even before the harvest begins) so that farmers can finance their crops. I sometimes contribute funds and time to help repair equipment, obtain medical supplies or resolve other difficulties such as the administrative procedures involved in issuing export certificates for the smallest producers who would otherwise be forced to hand over their production to large multinationals.

A close relationship of trust, mutual respect and friendship has existed between Terra and the coffee farmers for many years. I’m always discovering new farms and am pleased to offer them the same conditions as the others. These new discoveries are often the result of word of mouth in the coffee producing regions where Terra’s reputation attracts potential suppliers. We consider their interest an honour and a mark of confidence as well as a great reward in both personal and professional terms.

I’m currently helping a number of farmers obtain their Utz Kapeh certification by paying their certification costs. We will soon be proudly displaying the Utz Kapeh logo on our products from the certified farms. Certification will be an additional asset for those farmers as they search the world for importers who are committed to integrity.

Since helping others is a key element of our corporate vision, we have also chosen to contribute to a variety of causes here at home. We provide assistance to the Quebec Breakfast Club and other reputable charities by making a major contribution (8.5% of the revenues from the sale of our HumaniTerra brand of coffee).

In addition, in an effort to encourage environmentally friendly production methods that also benefit humanity, I work constantly to help our farmers obtain organic certification and to locate new farms that have already been certified.

Thank you once again for being concerned with the development of fair trade that is both ecologically sustainable and socially responsible. I hope I’ve convinced you that we’re all working together in order to achieve that goal, brick by brick (even when the bricks are sun-baked).

Solidarily yours!

Carlo Granito, President