Floods in Ecuador affect organic fair trade banana farmers

Dear banana eaters, sellers and concerned persons,

As many of you know, our organic Oké USA fair trade bananas come from El Guabo, a cooperative of 500 family farmers in coastal Ecuador. Since late January, the region has experienced devastating flooding.  One co-op member's son was killed, roads and houses were damaged and several farmers have lost all of their plantings.

The Oké USA staff and I are asking you to join us in supporting the farmers of El Guabo by raising $20,000 to buy a Bobcat Excavator that the coop will use to drain the flooded farms and do preventative maintenance to mitigate the impact of future floods.

All contributions are tax deductible, courtesy of Oké co-owner Red Tomato, a tax-exempt non-profit, and will go directly to fund the purchase of the Bobcat. The Bobcat fund has been seeded by another Oké co-owner, Equal Exchange. We are already more than 10% funded!

Finally, please remember that fair trade is a powerful part of sustainable development, the key to minimizing the impact of natural disasters.

Thank you for your concern, your contributions and your solidarity with the farmers of El Guabo.

Jonathan Rosenthal
Managing Director
Oké USA