NEW COFFEE: Working Towards Gender Equality in Guatemala
We are beyond excited to introduce our latest coffee sourced from Guatemala and entirely female-farmer produced! Not only is this high quality coffee filled with notes of dark chocolate, brown sugar, and plum, but its inception is also one tiny step towards achieving gender equality within the coffee industry in Guatemala. In Guatemala, gender equality remains a challenge, and coffee has long been a male-dominated industry. These factors have made it incredibly difficult for women to compete and thrive in the coffee world.
That's why we’re thrilled to offer La Morena as a platform to showcase the work of women farmers across Guatemala. This year's La Morena microlot was produced by twenty-three female farmers from the Huehuetenango region and are listed below. The Volcafe Way program - our parent company’s farm support program - is instrumental in helping these producers deliver this high quality coffee. Since these farmers started working with the Volcafe Way they have increased the quality of their coffee and their yields, and as a consequence have started earning more. In teaching these producers best practices, their farms are turning out excellent coffee and becoming viable businesses. We are proud to offer our customers - and their communities - the new La Morena.
La Morena is a heavy-bodied, mild acidity coffee with tasting notes of dark chocolate, brown sugar and plum. Produced from twenty-three different farms within the Huehuetenango region ranging from 1,442 - 1,626 meters in elevation,the coffee varieties are bourbon, caturra and catuai. These beans were harvested January through March of 2020, and are fully washed, naturally fermented and sundried.
The Coffee Industry in Guatemala
Guatemala is one of the most climatically diverse countries in the world. There are seven distinct types of arabica coffee that grow within its borders and are all affected by the soil in which they grow, the rainfall they receive, the humidity, their altitude and temperature. La Morena coffee is grown in the Huehuetenango region which is located on the border with Mexico. These beans thrive growing in a unique microclimate created by the dry and hot winds that blow down from the Tehuantepec plains in Mexico. These warm winds create a subtropical and humid climate with stable temperatures of around 73 degrees fahrenheit year-round. This protects the region from frost and contributes to the consistent and uniform maturation of the beans.
Gender Inequality in Guatemala
There are extreme levels of inequality within Guatemala between indigenous and non-indigenous populations and between men and women. Many indigenous women in Guatemala are disproportionately sick, illiterate, poor and overwhelmed with caring for children. In addition, many face overwhelming levels of violence and racism.
Guatemala has a long history of colonization and has experienced repression for centuries following the Spanish conquest. In addition, during the country’s civil war that ended in 1996, a majority of the casualties were indigenous people, according to the United Nations-backed Truth Commission. “Indigenous populations and particularly indigenous women bore the brunt of the conflict,” said Sarah Taylor, a women’s rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. One of the ways women bore the brunt of the conflict was through the high levels of rape committed against them. Successive corrupt governments have done little to advocate and support indigenous women to find justice and work toward gender equality and equal economic opportunities following the war.
Almost half of the population in Guatemala --around 8 million people-- is indigenous, most descendants from the Mayans. Guatemala is Central America’s largest economy, but the indigenous population does not reap the benefits. Four in five women are poor, according to the World Bank, and they earn less money than non-indigenous people, more often working in informal jobs picking crops or selling street food. It is normal for girls in Guatemala to stop going to school and start families at a young age. This leads to a lack of education and therefore a lack of opportunities in terms of becoming financially independent, stable, and able to compete within the workforce with their male counterparts who bear less of the child-rearing and home duties. One in three indigenous women has no access to health and family planning services, according to WINGS, a reproductive rights organization in Guatemala. It is not uncommon for indigenous children to be malnourished and experience stunted growth because of this. When a girl is born within indigenous communities, she is not celebrated the same way the birth of a boy is. Guatemala also has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world, with at least two women killed violently every day, according to the United Nations.
How You Can Help
Gender inequality is an issue that cannot fix itself overnight. Progress is the accumulation of both spreading awareness and taking action. When you choose to drink a cup of La Morena coffee, you are supporting the efforts of Volcafe Way and these twenty-three female farmers in Guatemala as they take one step at a time towards achieving gender equality in Guatemala. This country has experienced a tumultuous past filled with war, violence and inequality, and it will take time to work towards creating a safer country for women to live and thrive, both indigenous and non-indigenous. The first step is to educate yourself on the issue, and the second is to take action, which is what you are doing right now by choosing to drink La Morena. Please enjoy this delicious cup of high quality Guatemalan coffee, and know that your support is contributing to this group of female farmers being able to improve their crop, their earnings, their economic status and their lives year after year with each successful harvest.
Participating Producers and Farm Names
Floridalma Perez Lopez, Finca Ambrocio
Guillermina Villatoro Monzon, Finca Los Alisos
Adilia Carmela Martinez Mendoza, Finca Zacnicte
Dalia Carlota Villatoro Herrera, Finca Los Pinos
Imelda Castillo Villatoro, Finca El Zacatonal
Ana Francisca Villatoro Villatoro, Finca La Rosa
Gloria Magnolia Sales Gabriel De Jerónimo, Finca Magnolia
Blanca Elena Villatoro San Jose De Lopez, Finca Peniel
Dora Marina Vásquez Ambrosio, Finca Tuj Xboch
Ermita Esteban Díaz, Finca Toj Xmayel
Maria Lucinda Lopez Domingo, Finca Maria
Dora Marina Vásquez Ambrosio, Finca El Edén Ii
Yuris Yojana Villatoro Herrera, Finca El Rio
Norma Elizabeth Hernández López, Finca Ojo De Agua
Maria Santos Reynoso Chun, Finca El Recuerdo
Oralia López Villatoro, Finca Buenos Aires
Floridalma Carrillo Cifuentes, Finca El Matazano
Sara Elizabeth Lopez, Finca El Crucero
Maria Teresa Alvarado Villatoro, Finca Txoxel Melaj
Maria Carmelina Ramos Garcia, Finca El Campo
Flora Ramos Garcia, Finca El Campo
Julieta Aleida Herrera Laparra, Finca Julieta
Mariela Villatoro San José, Finca Las Orquideas
Sources:
Genuine Origin. “Guatemala La Morena 2020.” https://www.genuineorigin.com/2020-Guatemala-La-Morena?quantity=1&custcol3=1
“Guatemala Coffee.” Coffee Research Institute, 2001-2006. http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/guatemala.htm
Wulfhorst, Ellen. “Indigenous and female: life at the bottom in Guatemala.” Reuters, May 2, 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-women-indigenous/indigenous-and-female-life-at-the-bottom-in-guatemala-idUSKBN17Z07N