The author and independent scholar Mark Pendergrast discusses his book, Beyond Fair Trade: How One Small Coffee Company Helped Transform a Hillside Village in Thailand (Greystone, 2015), the Akha people in Thailand, and the Doi Chaang Coffee Company based in Vancouver, with Joseph Planta.

Beyond Fair Trade: How One Small Coffee Company Helped Transform a Hillside Village in Thailand by Mark Pendergrast (Greystone, 2015). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Beyond Fair Trade

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

Mark Pendergrast joins me now. The critically acclaimed, bestselling author has written an engaging new book, Beyond Fair Trade: How One Small Coffee Company Helped Transform a Hillside Village in Thailand. John Darch, an entrepreneur based out of Vancouver meets an enterprising man named Wicha Promyong in Thailand. This is nearly ten years ago, and for a number of years before that, Promyong has sought to cultivate and market coffee beans from Thailand abroad. The two men strike a partnership that goes beyond as the title suggests, beyond fair trade, where the Akha people have a partnership in the Doi Chaang Coffee Company. The beans are now available around the world. The story of how this venture came about, as well as the people involved is interesting. I’ll get Mr. Pendergrast to tell us about his own travels in chronicling this story. He is an independent scholar and the author of several books including: Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World, and For God, Country, and Coca-Cola, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. This new book is published by Greystone. The website for more is at www.markpendergrast.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, from Colchester, Vermont, Mark Pendergrast; Mr. Pendergrast, good morning.

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