Two Fincas and Yell Practice

Today is my last day in Guatemala. I will be going home early for the Aggie Rodeo. We spent the morning in Guatemala City. First, we visited Anacafe. There we learned about some of the coffee projects going on throughout the country. There is an American interest in solving issues that coffee farmers face, such as coffee leaf rust. We also toured their labs and testing facilities, and I was very impressed! I had no idea that so much equipment was used to test coffee flavor and consistency. For an engineering nerd like me, it was a blast! We visited a museum afterwards. There was quite a bit of documentation on the Mayan culture. The sophistication in their architecture still shocks me. I wonder what kinds of technology they used to construct their buildings and pinpoint their locations.

The afternoon consisted of finca tours. We toured two fincas. There was a huge area set aside for the drying of coffee beans at the first finca. We were able to see the rest of the setup, and it seemed more traditional than the second finca. The second finca is managed by a very innovative man. He does his best to keep his processes efficient, minimizing waste. It was very encouraging to hear from a man that believes everything has room for improvement. His current problem is finding a way to reuse pulp and water in a way to fertilize his coffee plants. Ideally, he would like to make a fertilizer that he can trade with farmers who bring their coffee cherries to the finca. They would drive to the finca with coffee cherries, and drive home with fertilizer for their plants. This would not provide any additional transportation cost.

At the first finca, we ran into a fellow Aggie by the name of Mark Smith. He is currently working under the Borlaug Institute on some projects in Central America. Mark has worked all over the world providing a better life for farmers! South Africa and Afghanistan are just a couple of places he has worked. This man had so many stories to tell and so much knowledge to share. We spent most of the tour talking about his experiences and getting to know each other. At the second finca, we ran into another former Aggie. This young man led us in our impromptu yell practice with Mr. Smith! Mark was delighted to share some Aggie tradition. He hadn’t done anything like that since the 80’s. So, it was a win-win afternoon for the both of us!

-Paco Falcon '17

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