Higher Grounds Trading Co. Hosts One-of-a-Kind Virtual Visit to Ethiopia

Oromia Photo Project Raises Awareness About - and Funds for - the Plight of Farmers at the Birthplace of Coffee

LAKE LEELANAU, Mich., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Higher Grounds Trading Co., Michigan's only 100% fair trade and organic coffee roasting company, has teamed with goNGOgo and Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) to offer US consumers an intimate view of the daily lives of coffee-farming families in Ethiopia via the web. The project is the only one of its kind for a major commodity. It provides consumers regular updates about the individual farmers who grow the coffee they drink. With its patent pending technology, goNGOgo provides a direct way to create change in coffee-growing regions by acting as an alternative giving method to transform consumer-buying decisions.

Beyene, a rural development specialist now working with the OCFCU in Ethiopia, is traveling the countryside of Ethiopia to capture the daily lives of farmers who produce some of the highest quality coffee in the world. Each day he relays photos to the United States plus the experiences of those he meets. goNGOgo provides Higher Grounds Trading Co. with the most relevant story of the week to share with consumers on their new website, http://www.highergroundstrading.com/ .

Higher Grounds Trading Co. is committed to sourcing all coffee from farmer-owned cooperatives at a rate exceeding the fair trade minimum and tips the farmers an extra dollar for every pound of Ethiopian coffee sold on their on-line store. The funds are being used to build a clinic, outfit a new school, and provide a water system for the communities from which Higher Grounds buys their gourmet beans. According to Beyene, no other organizations are operating in such a capacity.

The fair trade system was created to bring farmers out of poverty by paying them an internationally recognized fair price for their coffee. Coffee has largely benefited consuming countries at the detriment of farmers. Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and the cradle of civilization, depends on coffee for its livelihood. Coffee production contributes more than sixty percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings. But, with coffee prices hovering at the cost of production, farmers live in a ceaseless cycle of poverty.

The Oromia Photo Project brings to light the farmers' plight while providing consumers the opportunity to catalyze change in the coffee industry.

Source: Higher Grounds Trading Co.

CONTACT: Chris Treter of Higher Grounds Trading Co., +1-231-256-9687,
chris@highergroundstrading.com

Web site: http://www.highergroundstrading.com/