Editor’s note: The following is from the newsletter
published by the Catholic Mission in San Luis Toliman, Guatemala and it
describes the history of communal coffee growing in that part of the world. See images at end of this blog.
Fall is upon us! In San Lucas there
is a hum of activity as local farmers prepare for harvest time!! As the people
say, the happy season is drawing near!! A time when more work is available and
more families can find work! They look forward to having a means to provide for
their families. Mr. Edy Morales, our coffee project coordinator, commented,
“The coffee program is extremely important to the people of San Lucas.
“The Juan-Ana Café Program started
in 1992. [The late] Catholic Priest Fr. Greg [Schaffer] noticed that the street
value of coffee was very low. Coffee buyers were paying $8 to $10 for a
100-pounds of ripe coffee,” said Edy.
“JuanAna Café started as an
experiment, just buying from 6 families and roasting coffee over an open fire.
Fr. Greg’s objective was to help families by purchasing their coffee for a
higher price; he started paying $26 per 100-pounds of ripe coffee. This was a
huge difference compared to the street price. We continue purchasing ripe
coffee above the street value as a way to help small coffee producers.”
Coffee is grown throughout the
country, especially in the highlands where the rich volcanic soil and the
elevation are ideal. Coffee is one of the primary crops in Guatemala, along
with corn and sugarcane. Coffee is extremely important because it provides economic
support to families.
One coffee producer and father told
Edy that he dedicates himself to working the land and his coffee because he
must make the income generated from the coffee harvest cover the expenses of
his family over the course of the year. Edy explained, “The biggest difference
between our coffee and that of other fincas (farms) is the higher quality of
our coffee. First, we do not use chemicals to promote coffee plant growth. Many finca owners use want to produce a
product quickly so they use chemicals but as a result the coffee plant suffers greatly
in the process,” he said.
Edy continues, “The coffee in the
San Lucas area, however, is of better quality because of the perfect elevation
of 5,000 – 6,000 feet, its rich volcanic soil, warm sunny days and cool nights,
all needed for rich, tasty coffee, compared to most of the plantations that sit
at the lower altitude, with warmer temperatures and soil that is less rich.”
“In terms of the income for
families, those who go out and pick on a plantation are paid a daily wage of $6
to $10 for 8 hours of picking. They don’t get the profit of selling the ripe
coffee; they turn it in and the plantation owners are the ones that make large
profits. Where as we buy the ripe coffee directly from the small producers at a
higher price,” Edy said.
“Since I started working at the mission, I
have enjoyed working with coffee. What I enjoy most is that coffee is not
simple; it’s a very delicate process from caring for the plant all the way to
exportation. In our coffee program we have a complete chain from plant to
export and that is something we are very proud of it. Those who work here are
grateful to be a part of this program and continue to learn about coffee and
improving our products. We are dedicated to producing a high quality coffee and
continuing to support the small producers,” he said.
Edy points out, “The only real requirement to
sell coffee to us is that the families are owners of their own land, whether
it’s just one cuerda or ten (1 cuerda is an area of about 1/5 of an acre). Of
course we also require that they sell us only their highest quality beans. What
we’ve found is that those who participate in the program also take great pride
in their products, bringing the best of their harvests to us.”
“Since the program began we have
bought from hundreds of different families. However the number of families we
buy from annually depends on the overall quantity of the harvest and how much
each family produces as well as the demand for our coffee in the US. During the
2015 harvest (January to March), we bought coffee from a large number of
families,” he said.
According to Edy, “The coffee
processing area has improved a lot in the last few years. We increased the area
of drying patios and updated the processing equipment. Also, in 2011 we began
raising and selling coffee seedlings at a very low price to help the small
coffee producers that lost many precious plants during the mudslide and to the
fungus. I hope that the program keeps growing so that we can help more families
through the purchase of their high quality coffee.”
“The most important way people can
help these small farmers is, for example, by buying Juan-Ana coffee,” Edy
insists. “By buying a pound of Juan-Ana Café, you are giving value to the
product, the work of the families and the work of our mission employees
throughout the process. You are also supporting the San Lucas Mission so we can
continue helping more people. Without your help in purchasing Juan Ana Coffee,
many families would be without the significant income from their coffee harvest
that they are so dependent on.”
VISIT WITH THREE FAMILIES.
Edy added, “three families that
benefit from our program spoke to us about the value of the program to them. (1.)
Nicolas Coroxón, age 62, has a family of eight, with 6 children ranging in ages
20 to 36 years. He lives in San Lucas but originally came from Pampojila, a
nearby finca. Nicolas currently supports himself and his family by working his
land.
Nicolas shared “I don’t remember
exactly how many years I’ve been in the program, maybe 20 years. Being a part
of the program has helped me because the Mission pays much more and that helped
us to save up money. With this money I was able to buy additional land and
plant more coffee plants. I was a good friend of Fr. Greg and worked a lot with
him on the Granja, (the mission experimental farm.) I entered the program about
2 or 3 years after it started.”
(2). Daniel Alfonso Jacinto has a
family of 10 with 8 children ranging in ages 9 to 18 years old. He and his
family currently live in San Lucas. A construction accident a few years ago
left Daniel unable to work as hard as he used to, but still gets along with
crutches much of the time. “This will be my third year working with the
Juan-Ana Café,” Daniel said, “I currently have 9 cuerdas of land where I have
coffee planted. It is good to work one’s own land. Since my accident, it has
helped so much to be a part of the Mission’s program because they pay much more
for my coffee.”
(3.) Margarito López Cuj has a
family of 6, with 4 children. Three of his children are married and one is
still living at home while finishing up her schooling. He and his family live
in the community of Pampojila. Margarito shared, “I started to sell my coffee
to the Mission the first year Fr. Greg started the program. Back then everything was done by hand. I
currently work on my land. I plant both corn and coffee - the corn for personal
consumption (tortillas, etc.) and the coffee to sell. I am thankful to be a
part of this program because it helped us pay for the studies of my kids to
help them continue on.”
The harvest season is truly a joyful
season in San Lucas. Coffee is an extremely valuable asset for those that have
it, those that can help others with the harvest and for those of us that like
to drink it. The Friends of San Lucas want to spread the joy of this season to
all of you by offering a harvest promotion for our coffee buyers. For details
contact the growers support group at:
Friends of San Lucas
4679 Cambridge Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
Terri Wong
Mission Activities and
Communications Coordinator
651-454-0981
Arch Mrkvicka
Executive Director
651-592-0569
La Parroquia
San Lucas Tolimán
Sololá 07013
Guatemala
CENTRAL AMERICA
Phone: +(502) 7722 – 0112
Article
Source:
IMAGES FROM SAN
LUCAS TOLIMAN:
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