Frans van der Hoff (born 13 July 1939), or Francisco VanderHoff Boersma as he is called in Latin America, is a Dutch
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
Max Havelaar
''Max Havelaar; or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company'' ( nl, Max Havelaar; of, De koffi-veilingen der Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappy) is an 1860 novel by Multatuli (the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker), which played a key rol ...
, the first
Fairtrade
A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, As ...
label in 1988. Van der Hoff's contacts with Mexican coffee producers were important in securing the supply and ensuring the success of the very first Fairtrade certification initiative.
Van der Hoff was born as the seventh of seventeen children to a disciplined farming family, ''van der Hoff-Boersma,'' that had moved from
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
to the village De Rips in the southern Netherlands. He became politically active early on in student movements during his studies at
Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century ...
. He later received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
political economy
Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...
and another in
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
while studying in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In 1970, van der Hoff moved to
Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
worker-priest Worker-priest (french: Prêtre ouvrier, Prêtres au travail) was a missionary initiative by the French Catholic Church in particular for priests to take up work in such places as car factories to experience the everyday life of the working class. A ...
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to continue his work in the slums of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. Seven years later, he moved to
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
in the Southern part of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
created to bypass local traders (also called ''coyotes'') and pool resources.
In 1985, van der Hoff met Roozen at the
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
train station through a mutual friend. Roozen, who was then responsible for business development at ecumenicaldevelopment agencySolidaridad, quickly became interested in van der Hoff's work.Jan van der Kaaij (2004) Building a sustainable, profitable business: Fair trade coffee . URL accessed on September 24, 2006. On November 15, 1988, the two started the first Fairtrade labelling initiative, Max Havelaar. The initiative offered disadvantaged
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
producers following various social and environmental standards a fair price—significantly above the market price—for their crop. The
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
, originating from the UCIRI cooperative, was imported by
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
company Van Weely, roasted by Neuteboom, and then sold directly to world shops and retailers across the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The initiative was a great success and was replicated in several other markets.
In 2006, Fairtrade-certified sales amounted to approximately €1.6 billion worldwideFairtrade Labelling Organizations International (2007). www.fairtrade.net. URL accessed on May 24, 2007. and over 569 producer organizations, representing roughly over 1.5 million producers, in 58 developing countries were Fairtrade certified.
Awards
Van der Hoff was named
Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
by French president Chirac in 2005.
Van der Hoff was awarded the 2006 North-South Prize by the Council of Europe. He was also appointed Commander in the Order of the Crown (Belgium) by the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium for his efforts to establish a "different economy", and was awarded the Groeneveldprize from the Groeneveld Foundation in the Netherlands for his special efforts for preservation of the environment in the same year.