Personal signatures and selfies from thousands of Irish people are being converted by Bewley’s into a cash boost for a fairtrade coffee farming community in Nicaragua.
8,792 people pledged their support for Bewley’s fairtrade coffee initiatives by signing walls in Bewley’s cafés and posting their pictures on Bewley’s facebook during Fairtrade Fortnight 2014. That’s exactly the amount now being sent by Bewley’s to a community development project at the Soppexcca Farmers Co-operative in rural Jinotega, 250 km north of Managua.
This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight was themed ‘The Power of You’ and Bewley’s invited everyone to get involved. Answering the call, Bewley’s café visitors joining the fun included Ireland international rugby stars Peter O’Mahony and rock band Hermitage Green who also played a live gig in Bewley’s.
8,225 people signed the fairtrade walls in Bewley’s Grafton Street and George’s Street cafés and 567 people posted selfies on Bewley’s Facebook page.
Celebrating such great public support for its fairtrade campaign, Bewley’s baristas paraded thousands of signatures for everyone to see on Dublin’s Grafton Street earlier today.
Carol Geary of Bewley’s said, “We want high quality coffee for consumers and fair deals for producers so it’s a winning combination for everyone when we see such strong support from our customers and the public.”