Maya Earth Coffee from Guatemala - Part of the Growing Organic Fair Trade Movement Benefiting Body and Soul

by Robert Wilkinson

I almost never promote commercial enterprises but today is an exception due to timing. Maya Earth Coffee is one of the site sponsors here. Its owner is a man of utmost integrity and one of my best friends for over 25 years. He ships to individuals and institutions, and since this is the time of the year when the coffee harvest comes in, it's the best time to get your order in if you want a great product at a great price serving a more ideal economic model.

My friend is about to go to Guatemala to do his yearly ordering while conducting a "Coffee Eco-Tour" for those who want to see what good their money does. He buys from many villages that grow their beans in specific microclimates, and as a long time coffee fan, I can attest that Guatemalan coffee is some of the best. Of course, organic is the only way to go because most commercial coffee has pesticides and herbicides that over time are extremely bad for our health.

Maya Earth Coffee's prices are in line with other stores who also sell organic Fair Trade, like Trader Joe's and most co-ops. This makes it great for people like me who live far from any decent coffee source, since he can ship fresh roasted coffee to just about anywhere.

I'll be doing an article on the Fair Trade movement in the near future. For now I'll just say that it ensures that the growers receive a fair price for their product. It's a natural countermovement to multinational corporations that stiff the farmers, denying them a decent life while making big profits for stockholders.

Buying Certified Fair Trade products is one way for us to make a difference in our world through putting our money where it will do the most good. Though certified organic and Fair Trade products may cost a few cents more (sometimes not!), in the long run it's great for our bodies and our human transactional karma.

Another reason to order directly from Maya Earth Coffee is that for every bag ordered, he donates 10% back to farmers in Guatemala or designated not-for-profit organizations here in the USA, thus furthering other good works. From his site:

Maya Earth Coffee’s business philosophy goes way beyond the traditional profit-driven model that measures success on how much income is generated. Our core business values are based on honesty, respect, fairness, and equality.... our success is measured not by the amount of money we generate, but rather by how much money we give back to the community.

We invite you to become a part of the Maya Earth Coffee network and experience, first hand, how the coffee you drink makes $en$e-for you, your community, and Mayan coffee farmers in Guatemala.

We believe in fair trade for Guatemala’s coffee producers and for our not-for-profit partners here in the United States. Together, we can build a better future for everyone.

So if you want fresh roasted coffee shipped directly to you any time you want in any quantity, small or large, please go to Maya Earth Coffee and place your order. You won't regret it, and will be making a positive difference in the lives of many people.

If you have any questions, you can email him via the contact address listed there. And by all means, tell him you found out about his work through The Aquarius Papers!

© Copyright 2009 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Maya Earth Coffee]

Robert:

Muchas gracias for the informative post. I really appreciate you using Aquarius Papers as a vehicle to inform the community about fair trade and the benefits of organic coffee.

I look forward to posting another comment that will include links about fair trade, organic coffee and other related information.

Paz y Luz,

[Maya Earth Coffee]

Robert

Here are some coffee links about fair trade, Guatemala and some great projects which support the families that bring coffee into your world. Enjoy.

Grounds for Health

Coffee Kids

TransFair USA

MAYACERT

Anacafe

UtzCertified

Equal Exchange

[Robert]

Hi Felipe - Glad to be of service. I would hope that many will order some quantity of your delicious coffee and find the joys for themselves. It's a whole new model for our ways of supporting good causes and good products.

[Maya Earth Coffee]

Robert

I'm finishing my two week trip to Guatemala and have some interesting news about the coffee producers, this years harvest, the Mayan calendar and messages about 2012, among other things.

I'll be posting information when I return.

Paz y luz

[Robert]

Hi Maya Earth Coffee - Glad you made it back with a great batch of coffee ready to be roasted and shipped all over the world. I hope your orders double this coming year. Also looking forward to what you have to offer from the Mayan source re: 2012, given the usual flapdoodle going on here in El Norte.

[Maya Earth Coffee]

Robert

I just came back from Guatemala and had the opportunity to meet with Mam coffee farmers, visit Ixil friends that I haven't seen in many years and share time with my humble Kakchiquel family.

After experiencing the warmth of making new friends, the appreciation of re-uniting with old friends and the preciousness of sharing life with family, I returned to the USA with a renewed sense of hope and energy. Waking up to live each day fully is truly a blessing!

Having said that, I'm pleased to inform that we finalized plans to import a container of fair trade and organic coffee from distinct coffee-producing regions of Guatemala. The container is scheduled to arrive in March or April. For those of you who visit Maya Earth Coffee, please be advised that we are updating our web site, so all functions may not be working properly. We hope to have it fully updated by Monday 3/2/09.

I also also came across some important information regarding the Mayan Calendar and 2012, which is fully reproduced below. This information came from the Fundacion Centro Cultural and Asistencia Maya C.C.A.M. (Cultural Center and Mayan Assistance Foundation) Their philosophy is to promote Mayan Culture in its different manifestations and contribute to the integral development of all people, and especially the Mayan people.

For your perusal, Post No. 1 of the series "Mayan Prophecies - The End of the World or the Start of a New Era?"

“The interpretation of the prophetic texts is very complex, because in addition to being written in a metaphorical and mystical manner without a logical relationship, the texts are presented according to the Long Count. The start of the prophecies initiates with 11 Ahau Katun (3113 BC) and ends with 13 Ahau Katun (December 22, 2012). Thirteen periods are represented in which predictions are made with respect of the development of life.

The date 2012, comes from the Long Count, which defines a very precise cycle of 1,872,000 days starting on August 12, 3113 BC, and ending on the decisive, December 22, 2012. This interval of days is often referred to as the "Great Sun Cycle”.

There is a series of seven prophets with profound and mystical content, which is related to the end of the Long Count, that corresponds to December 22, 2012. Within these prophecies, the Mayans do not talk about the end of the world, but rather, specifically say that all things will transform, that the only thing that is permanent is the spirit in its evolutionary journey to higher spiritual levels.

The messages are engraved in stones (stellas) the Mayans left us. In other words, the "Seven Prophecies", constitute a message of alert and hope. The message of alert advises us of what will happen in these times that we live in, and the message of hope informs us of the changes that we should make within ourselves to lead humanity towards a new era where righteous values will start to flower in each and every one of us, through our daily practice. The new era that the seven prophecies refer to, will be the era of the woman, the era of the mother and the era of sensibility.

In actuality, the world is in convulsion, living in times of war for no reason, climate changes that provoke calamities, natural disasters that occur with greater frequency. And, not to mention our own individual daily actions that demonstrate, first of all, that we are out of touch with ourselves. And secondly, that we are out of touch with others which, has lead to the consequential deterioration of relations with our Creator, with our brothers and sisters, and with humanity in general.”

“The Mayans do not talk about the end of the world, but rather, specifically say that all things will transform, that the only thing that is permanent is the spirit in its evolutionary journey to higher spiritual levels.”

Fundacion Centro Cultural and Asistencia Maya C.C.A.M.
Chichicastenango, El Quiche, Guatemala

Pax y luz,