Building peace through coffee: religiously diverse African coffee farmers are featured in December's Do Something Reel Film Festival

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of religiously diverse coffee farmers have come together to form the "Delicious Peace" Coffee Cooperative and are featured in this month's Do Something Reel Film Festival.

JJ Keki, chairman of the cooperative, had the idea of creating a co-op both to sell coffee and to spread peace in the world. When he shared this idea with his friends, they were overjoyed.

The cooperative's Jewish, Christian and Muslim Ugandan coffee farmers partnered with a Fair Trade buyer to improve their standards of living, build peaceful relationships in Uganda despite the country's hardships and spread their messages of peace and fair wages to coffee consumers in the United States. 

"We believe that the central goal of Do Something Reel – educating and inspiring audiences to recognize and use the power of their purchasing decisions to affect change – is a perfect fit for the message of 'Delicious Peace,'" said director Curt Fissel. "Specifically, viewers of 'Delicious Peace' learn how Fair Trade wages affect the lives of farmers, both in terms of basic living necessities and a commitment to ensuring peaceful relationships."

To watch the film, simply visit www.dosomethingreel.com. For consumers looking to drink fairly traded coffees to help support fair wages and working conditions, Whole Foods Market sells a variety of Fair Trade Certified and equitably traded options from dozens of cooperatives like "Delicious Peace."

Do Something Reel, which kicked off on Earth Day 2012, is an ongoing collection of provocative films about food and environmental issues that can be purchased and streamed on various digital platforms. The festival was formed in partnership with FilmBuff and is presented in association with Applegate Organic & Natural Meat, Earthbound Farm Organic, Popcorn Indiana and siggi's.

Contact: Emily Wright, Whole Foods Market 
(512) 542-3725, [email protected]

SOURCE Whole Foods Market