Fair Trade Review: Women's Bean Project Salsa

So one of the presents I gave my Mom for Christmas was some Salsa mix! When she was pregnant with me she always craved salsa, so salsa in my house is definitely sentimental. Plus I am a huge advocate of fair trade, so finding fair trade salsa mix made my day!

The Women's Bean Project is an organization that "strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities". They are awesome. They sell a bunch of different food mixes ranging from dips to breads to cookies. They also sell coffee/tea and jewelry.

However, what I think is most interesting is that they are not hiring women to make/sell products, but they are selling products to hire women. In short, WBP:

• Meets basic needs and removes barriers to employment by paying a wage and facilitating support services
• Offers life skills that enhance a woman's ability to govern her own life
• Arranges services that increase employ-ability such as GED and computer classes
• Provide hands-on training in the fundamental job readiness skills required by entry-level employers

I wanted to make a salsa fresca with some fresh tomatoes, onions and cilantro. About half the mix can be  mixed with 1lb of tomatoes, which I think is pretty impressive. After cutting everything up and mixing the ingredients with the mix, I let it sit for roughly 2 hours to let all the flavors mesh.

I am pretty impressed with the mix, but honestly I think the 1lb/half pack ratio is off. I did not really taste a whole lot of mix. There is also a recipe given where you blend canned tomatoes, jalepenos, onion and the mix that I would like to try (with organic tomatoes!). I am curious if the mix is better with canned ingredients compared to fresh.

Are you a fan of mixes like this? Any recommendations I should try? Also if you love salsa, what is your favorite brand/kind?