5.03.2007 - 12:20pm ET

(CSRwire) Washington DC- May 2, 2007 -Ethiopia's specialty coffee sector celebrated this week as Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company, a renowned and high profile fair trade and farmer-friendly coffee roaster and distributor, joined the Ethiopian new network of licensed distributors.

"Dean's Beans is a company that takes a lead on support and consideration for its developing world coffee suppliers and coffee farmers. We know they already have demonstrated their commitment to Ethiopian coffee farmers and their communities. The goal of our initiative is to raise awareness in Ethiopia of how special and unique their coffees are and to bring more sustainable economic benefits to farmers from their sale. We are very pleased to have Dean Cycon and his team join forces in our network at this early and formative stage," commented Getachew Mengistie.

The network of licensed distributors is a pioneering group of coffee companies who have formally chosen to acknowledge Ethiopia’s ownership rights to the ancient and important coffee brands such as Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. These are globally recognised as special and highly appreciated coffees. Network members are companies who have explicitly committed to work in partnership with a new fine coffee stakeholder group in Ethiopia, which includes coops, private exporters and relevant local coffee promotion and support agencies. The simple sounding, but ambitious aim is to work closely together to develop and jointly promote Ethiopia’s exquisite coffees and to define policies that make the whole chain more sustainable and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

Dean Cycon, of Dean's Beans commented, on signing the licensing agreement last week,

"Dean’s Beans participated in bringing the first Ethiopian organic fair trade coffee to the USA, and we have been strong supporters of the farmers ever since. This is an exciting new initiative that seeks to increase the value farmers get for their great coffees through increased brand awareness and quality assurance. There is a lot of work to do to make this project an on-the-ground success. We want to be at the table and in the field with the farmers and other stakeholders to insure that success."

The need for innovation is very pressing. At present Ethiopian coffee farmers toil and struggle to survive, totally unaware of the consumer’s appreciation and the high retail prices being paid. Many coffee experts and buyers are worried that rare and important strains of Harar and other fine coffees are being uprooted to grow chat, a narcotic plant consumed widely in the region, simply because local prices are much more remunerative.

Notes:

1. The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) is spearheading the Ethiopian Trademarking and Licensing Initiative

2. The Initiative has financial support from the UK’s Department for International Development, and advice and training from Washington DC based NGO Light Years IP, but no funding directly from coffee companies.

3. The EIPO and law firm Arnold and Porter have secured Trademarks in 28+ countries to date. In the US a Trademark for Yirgacheffe has been secured and the two others are still being sought despite opposition.

4. More information on the Initiative and who is supporting it is available on the dedicated website www.ethiopiancoffeenetwork.com

5. For more insights into Ethiopian coffee farmers’ lives and the way the coffee market works see also www.blackgoldmovie.com

Contacts:

Getachew Mengistie
Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia Contact: 251 115 534 969
US Cell: 202 497 8588 (until May 7th 2007)
gmengistie@yahoo.com

Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C.
T: 202-364-1200
http://www.ethiopianembassy.org/index.shtml

For more information please contact: