At the end of this month, Perfect Daily Grind, in partnership with Anacafe, will host over 500 producers and 75 international guests in Guatemala at the Producer and Roaster Forum. The event will feature lectures from industry experts sharing their perspectives on multiple topics relevant to farmers and roasters alike, panels related to the Australian, Asian, European and North American markets, as well as the first ever coffee blockchain auction. By facilitating a forum where roasters and producers are present, it also aims to generate direct and transparent business relationships between them.
Because we believe in the importance of closing the gap between coffee producers and coffee roasters, we are sponsoring seven small-holder coffee producers, one from each of the countries where we operate, to attend the Forum with all expenses paid by Caravela.
We hope that their participation in the Forum will allow them to build relationships with other coffee producers, as well as with coffee roasters from all over the world and develop a better understanding of the coffee market. And once they return to their home countries, they will be able to share their knowledge with fellow producers.
Below are profiles of the seven coffee producers chosen to attend the Forum later this month:
We have been working with Duberney for six years and are proud to have a win-win relationship with him. Duberney had a great experience being a PECA technician for Caravela, where he learned many new things about taking proper care of coffee trees and how to conserve and improve quality, which he has implemented at his farm, Finca La España, as well as teaching his neighbors and friends in his home town of Planadas. Duberney is a proactive coffee producer, always in search of quality improvements. He was one of the first coffee growers in Planadas to plant Geisha trees at his farm, a variety that, along with his commitment to quality, allowed him to take second place at the 2018 Colombia Cup of Excellence.
In our efforts to build fruitful relationships in the Galapagos and to incentivize the consistent production of specialty coffee in the archipelago, we chose Jadira Jhomara Larrea to travel from Galapagos. A 37-year old coffee grower, she also farms tomatoes, maize, radishes, and citric fruits at Finca La Envidia. Besides being a committed coffee producer, Jadira has also managed Cooperativa de Café de Galapagos since 2015, leading the 62 members of the cooperative and becoming a role model for coffee growers on the island. We are excited for Jadira to share her Producer Roaster Forum experience with her coffee producing community in the island of Santa Cruz.
Doña Blanca Reyna is one of the newest beneficiaries from our PECA Program in El Salvador. For the past year with Blanca, we have emphasized the importance of improving fertilization techniques, which resulted in higher yields at Finca El Peñasco. Blanca stands out among the people in her community for her hard work and efforts sustaining her farm and her family. It’s great to see how she has motivated other coffee producers to continue moving forward and start new projects on their farms.
Everto is a producer from the western Guatemala who has been working with Caravela and our PECA team since 2018. One big change he has made on his farm, El Sarquil, is implementing a fertilization plan which has led to great results in his cup quality. This in turn has given him the opportunity to further invest back into his farm; currently he is working on expanding his drying station and installing raised African beds, as with heathier trees he is now producing more coffee. Everto is always looking for ways to improve, and his work with PECA has been mutually rewarding. He is conscientious, asking questions about the advice he receives before implementing it.
Moyses Hernandez is originally from the Los Naranjos community and is from indigenous heritage, a descendent of the Zopoteca culture. Moyses has a farm of two hectares at an altitude of 1300 MASL. He grows only Pluma Hidalgo and he is proud to say that all his processes are organic. For Moyses this is of the upmost importance, as he wants his farm practices to support the environment, not damage it. Apart from managing his farm, he is also the president of the group “Productores Indígenas de Café Orgánico El Tucan”, which is made up of 140 producers from this zone in Oaxaca. Echoing Moyses’ personal ethos, this group focuses on the conservation of traditional coffee varieties and protecting the environment. Guillermo was born in the municipality of Dipilto, Nueva Segovia. He has been involved with coffee since his youth, working on farms in the region until he could buy his first parcel of land. Over time he has been able to develop this land into the farm that he has today and named it “El Poste”. Currently, he grows Caturra, Bourbon, Red Catuaí and Maracaturra at altitudes between 1300 – 1760 MASL. Guillermo is a grower focused on producing only the best, as seen through his rankings at Cup of Excellence; over the years he has consistently performed well in the competition. 80% of what he produces is sold as specialty, with over 50% cupped at AA and AAA. Guillermo likes to experiment with his processes and recently extended his fermentation time from 36 to 48 hours. He always works on improving what he does on the farm, as well as maintaining relationships with roasters who show interest in what he does.
Norman is a dedicated and passionate coffee producer. He has been producing specialty coffee for more than 5 years and has 2 hectares of traditional coffee varieties planted, including red and yellow Caturra, Bourbon, and Geisha. Norman brings the experience of his parents, who worked in coffee for 50 years, to his style of production. His father was a model producer for many in the region, hosting visits where other farmers could come to learn more about his production and how to improve their farm infrastructure. Norman has continued this tradition and holds frequent masterclasses on how to improve processes at the farm level.
He is proud that coffee has allowed him to constantly learn new things, meet people, and see places that he never thought he would. “My commitment is to specialty coffee,” he says. “When I return from this trip, I am going to apply everything that I’ve learnt and will share this knowledge with other producers that form part of my cooperative”
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