Black Gold is a "vivid and galvanizing" documentary (Time Out New York) that explores the international coffee trade and its effect on Ethiopian farmers.

Multinational corporations dominate the $80 billion coffee industry, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

However, multinational coffee companies don't always pay farmers enough to cover costs of production.

In Ethiopia, where low coffee prices have hit hard, the Oromia Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union has made a crucial difference.

Tadesse Meskela, leader of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, represents 101 Co-operatives and the livelihoods of over 74,000 coffee farmers.

Tadesse spends most of his time flying around the world meeting coffee buyers who will pay his farmers a better price than that set by the international commodities exchange.

Since 1999, the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union has built four new schools, four health centres, two clean water supply stations, and returned $2 million in coffee dividends to the farmers.

"Our hope is one day the consumer will understand what they are drinking. Consumers can bring a change if awareness is given to consumers. It is not only on coffee, all products are getting a very low price - and the producers are highly affected."