Tonight was my first time in an Islamic center. (JJ, left)

The same went for JJ Keki and Seth Jonadev, two coffee farmers from the Mirembe Kawomera co-op in Uganda, who spoke at a Fair Trade LA event as a part of a tour arranged by Thanksgiving Coffee.

Not just any co-op — A fair trade co-op that unites Jewish, Muslim, and Christian farmers, creating bonds across religious differences while also allowing those farmers to make a living wage through their work.

JJ and Seth are Jewish — and said that before tonight, they didn’t know we HAD Muslims in the US, because of what’s been going on in the Middle East. They were happy to learn that there were. (Seth, right)

We were lucky to get a space at the Islamic Center of Southern California (Vermont & Third). About 30 people came by to hear JJ and Seth, to get a taste of fair trade coffee (Equal Exchange), tea (Alter Eco) and chocolate (Equal Exchange)

To the left: Ben and Haley from Thanksgiving Coffee, the company that’s roasting and selling Mirembe’s coffee in the US and Canada. More pictures from the event here.

And to get involved with Fair Trade LA, just go over to the Fair Trade LA website and send over a message — We’re now planning for the Global Week of Action to call attention to the unfair trade policies the US imposes on poor people in developing countries. Join in!

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