Beyond Fair Trade: How One Small Coffee Company Helped Transform a Hillside Village in Thailand

by Mark Pendergrast

Overview

"What does compassionate capitalism look like? Mark Pendergrast shows us in this enlightening story of tribal life, opium, missionaries, market trends, a Thai antiques dealer, a mining entrepreneur and coffee." Abigail Carroll, author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal

The Akha hill tribe of Thailand has a long, tumultuous history. Politics, economics, violence, prejudice, and deforestation 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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771640473
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	11/07/2015
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mark Pendergrast is an independent scholar and author of Uncommon Grounds and For God, Country, and Coca-Cola, and Inside the Outbreaks, among other books.

Editorial Reviews

01/11/2016
Pendergrast (Uncommon Grounds) offers a well-written, insightful account of Thai entrepreneur Wicha Promyong and Canadian financier John Darch's efforts to establish the Doi Chaang fair trade coffee brand in an equal partnership business between Darch's Vancouver company and a co-operative of Thai farmers. Though different in temperament and background, they were united in their goal of improving the living conditions of Akha hill tribes in Thailand. Promyong understood the need for Akha farmers to find an alternative to cultivating poppies for opium production. Rather than growing traditional crops such as tomatoes using toxic pesticides, he suggested Doi Chang farmers cultivate high-quality organic arabica coffee beans using natural methods. If the beans met organic fair trade standards, they could charge a premium price. He met Darch in 2006, and the following year Darch launched the Doi Chaang Coffee Company after making a risky leap to purchase four containers of Doi Chaang green coffee beans for $2.73 per pound, well above the base price of $1.26 a pound for fair trade coffee. This book, which charts the idealistic business venture's uphill climb to success will appeal to environmentalists and entrepreneurs interested in following sustainable business practices as well as students of social history and economics. Photos. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"What does compassionate capitalism look like? Mark Pendergrast shows us in this enlightening story of tribal life, opium, missionaries, market trends, a Thai antiques dealer, a mining entrepreneur and coffee." Abigail Carroll, author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal

"Well-researched and well-written, Mark Pendergrast’s Beyond Fair Trade is an inspirational tale of how culinary globalization can work for the benefit of both low- and high-income communities." Andrew F. Smith, editor-in-chief, Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

“I celebrate the story of Doi Chaang in Thailand as a force for change. I believe that through trade justice, communities like Doi Chaang and world markets can meet and thrive together.” -Tom Smith, Executive Director of Fairtrade Canada

From the Publisher