Urban Greens Co-op Market recently unveiled a mural celebrating fair trade on the side of its building in Providence, R.I. The co-op was selected by Fairtrade America to be the site for the mural, which is intended to symbolize the co-op’s community commitment to understanding the stories behind the products we consume daily.
Joe Doura, Urban Greens’ finance manager and the interim general manager at the time of the project, called the mural and the process of creating it incredible.
“I’ve been in the food business for 40 years, and this must be one of the top success stories of my career,” Doura says. “Fairtrade America is an amazing organization. They empower people and a make a difference in their lives by bringing their stories to consumers, telling them about the products they purchase and the choices they make.”
Urban Greens was one of only 12 buildings in the country selected by Fairtrade America for a mural. According to Doura, the project was a lot of work, but well worth it in the end. It all began when Pete Tantisunthorn from Fairtrade America reached out to Doura to see if the co-op would be interested in the project. Doura talked it over with the management team and, after a few meetings, they were all in.
“There was a whole list of tasks to plan for and complete for us to achieve this,” Doura says. “We had to commit to a timeline and the marketing and promotion of the mural, get approvals from the board and landlord, and plan an unveiling ceremony.”
Urban Greens worked closely with Fairtrade America throughout the project. One of the most significant steps was the artist selection process. Fortunately, Fairtrade America had several connections with local artists in the Rhode Island area. Representatives from Fairtrade America and the co-op held Zoom interviews with local artists who then had to submit initial renderings of the mural and project cost estimates.
The artist chosen to create the mural was AGONZA, a local artist who lived just blocks from co-op. Ben & Jerry’s, the sponsor of the mural, wanted to feature a cacao grower, as an homage to their use of chocolate in their ice creams. Based on that criterion, it was decided that AGONZA would paint a portrait of Bengaly Bourama, a cacao farmer from Cote d’lvoire, which is in the fair trade system.
Once the artist had been selected and work on the mural began, the co-op started communicating with customers about the project. A videographer was hired to document the process, and excitement began to grow in the community.
“AGONZA worked morning to night for a week,” Doura says. “Across the street from the co-op is a high school, and kids were watching the mural process every day. They started coming to the store getting snacks after school, and now they come in every day!”
On Oct. 21, 2023, Urban Greens unveiled the mural. They hosted a celebration combined with vendor samplings highlighting fair trade products. The event featured fair trade chocolate and bananas, and Ben & Jerry’s came to the store with ice cream samples and fixings for a sundae bar.
Months later, enthusiasm around the mural continues. A film crew from PBS, which visited the co-op during the mural production, is currently working on a feature about AGONZA. Urban Greens is planning a renovation of its community room that will feature a replica of the mural on one of the walls along with the story of the project. It will highlight ongoing support for local artists and fair trade. AGONZA will also come to the co-op twice a year and talk to the community about the mural.
Doura is even working on a book documenting the entire project for Urban Greens staff. “It’s a thank you and a memento for all the work that’s been done,” he says. “It’s been a positive reaction from everyone. The outpouring of support from the community has been great. This project was so wonderful, and I want everyone to be reminded of that.”
