Antigua, coffee, and new friends

The plaza in Antigua

All the buildings in Antigua were covered with beautiful flowers.

Day 2- Saturday, March 11, 2017

       We started the day with a homemade breakfast made by two of the women that work with De La Gente. It was a traditional Spanish style breakfast of eggs with onions, black beans, plantains (my favorite), tortillas and coffee! After breakfast we took a 15-minute drive to Antigua. In Antigua, Emmy explained a lot of the history of the city. Antiqua was the third capitol of Guatemala, but the capitol later moved to Guatemala City because of the frequent earth quakes. So now it is a pleasant city filled with various ruins and tourist attractions. One of the ruins was a crumpled down church that was recreated into like a recreational field. It was a neat way to incorporate modern lifestyle to such a traditional and historical past! We then made the hike to Cerro de Cruz, which was an overlook of the city. It was picturesque. The city is in a valley in between two volcanoes, one active and one non- active. We were even able to see where some of the coffee plants were grown on the side of the mountains. After that Dr. Leo and Taya parted ways with us to go to a meeting, and we went to visit one more ruin (which was almost like a garden) and had lunch at a very American style restaurant that was run by a Canadian! We were hungry though so it did the job. For the next two hours Emmy let us roam around Antiqua and we did the typical souvenir and tourist things.

            Once we returned to the guest house we did a small coffee activity to prepare for Monday with the farmers. We each played a different part of the coffee production (for example my group was shippers) and discussed how much each aspect receives for a $2.75 Nestle coffee. It ended up that farmers only receive 5 cents of the total profit, while the roasters receive a $1.77. Even though no coffee would be produced without the farmers they still make the least amount! The activity was a great way to show the overall inequality that not only coffee farmers, but most farmers face.

            We ended the day again by going to a farmer’s house for dinner. This farmer was one of the original founders of the co-op that works directly with De La Gente. It was such an amazing experience being able to talk with him and his wife. They have 12 kids, 22 grandkids and their goal is for the kids to continue to receive their education. What I was most shocked and humbled about was the farmer’s perception of women in the farming community. He explained that “we are all equal” and that women have every right to be successful in the farming coffee industry just as much as anyone else. His wife sat with us for dinner, which was unlike our first family dinner where the women served us and then sat somewhere else. His wife was able to answer all our questions as well. It was really an incredible thing to witness, especially with Guatemala being a very traditional culture. They also explained how much the co-op has grown since they first began it, and their hope to continue to bring in younger farmers who are passionate about the correct and sustainable ways to grow coffee.

            Having dinner with the families has so far been my favorite part of this trip. It is really fascinating to be able to really improve in my Spanish, I am kind of surprised of how much I can understand and even respond with! I also love the learning aspect. Since I am not a horticulture major, the amount of information I am learning in such a short notice about coffee plants is fantastic.