Our Day With a Guatemalan Coffee Farmer

Timoteo has 8 acres of coffee plants
in the shadow of a volcano in the
Guatemalan highlands.

We spent a day with a Guatemalan coffee farmer, and learned much about his life and the provenance of our favorite morning beverage.  Timoteo is part of a coffee cooperative that has greatly improved his life and made it possible to send his 6 children to school including university. He was one of several founders of the coffee cooperative called De La Gente (from the People), that has now grown to a couple dozen farmers in the countryside near Antigua, Guatemala.  They combine resources to acquire necessary materials and processing equipment, resulting in value added to their product. In addition to getting higher prices for their coffee, and a better standard of living for families, the co-op engages in eco-tourism and education for those who love coffee and have no idea about the conditions under which it is grown and marketed.  See more at THIS LINK.  A very educational and tasty day with Timoteo and his family, in the field and at home!

Ripe red coffee beans ready to be picked

Shelly tries her hand (and back) at the picking process

Mugging for the camera in the field

Does it look hot?  It was!

Timoteo's brother Gabriel at work

Freshly picked and hulled coffee beans

A converted bicycle for separating
the coffee skin from the bean, faster
than by hand

Timoteo shows the wet beans

Coffee beans drying in the sun

Drying in the sun on a rooftop

Doing well by doing good:  DLG Coffee Co-op

At home, Timoteo's wife Rosa demonstrates roasting
coffee beans the old fashioned way

Shelly tries her hand at stovetop coffee bean roasting

The smell of roasting coffee beans--que rico!

Grinding the beans
while granddaughter plays

Shelly about to renounce
a coffee farmer's lifestyle

Lunch at home with Timoteo

Drinking our very own coffee after the meal

The family at home:
thanks for educating us!

Great organization helping farmers
See more at this link

A solid charitable organization making a difference
in peoples' lives