Reflections from Guatemala

In late May, Food 4 Farmers staff and board members traveled to San Antonio Huista, Guatemala to visit our program partners at the ACODIHUE cooperative. Since we began our work together in 2019, the members of ACODIHUE have implemented F4F food sovereignty, income diversification, and agroforestry initiatives, resulting in a thriving food security program. 

We were joined on the trip by F4F Board member, supporter, and advocate, Laura Peterson. During her time as Corporate Communication Manager at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Laura promoted Fair Trade, organic coffee and worked closely with F4F Co-Founder Rick Peyser to produce “After the Harvest”, a 20-minute film highlighting the “thin months,” an annual phenomenon during which coffee producers struggle with food insecurity. 

Laura has traveled extensively throughout coffee growing regions, however this was her first visit to a F4F program partner. Laura shares her reflections on the visit in this month's blog.  

Reflections from Guatemala. 

Laura Peterson - F4F Board Member 

On a warm evening in May I found myself in a familiar position: hunched over a cupping table, taking photos of my friend and coffee phenom Lindsey Bolger. I had taken this shot—Lindsey nose-first in a white cup, eyes closed in concentration—countless times when we worked at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. This time, we were in Guatemala as board members of Food 4 Farmers and guests of the ACODIHUE coffee cooperative.  

“Was this grown at a slightly lower elevation?” Lindsey asked of the third lot, still able to amaze me with her sensory acuity. The cupping was the conclusion of a long day in the field, learning how programs supported by Food 4 Farmers were making a difference in the lives of ACODIHUE’s members. Lindsey confirmed what the cooperative already knows – their members can produce excellent coffee. But with mounting challenges like climate change and high production costs, the income these farmers receive from coffee is simply not enough to sustain their families. 

We began the day taking the co-op’s white pickup trucks high into the Chucumatanes Mountain Range. In the small town of Pajal we met Maidi Gabriel Mendoza, the daughter of a coffee farmer and a new community promoter. At the age of 20 her job is to teach members of her community how to diversify their diet and incomes through home gardens …. but she also recognizes the roots of ancestral traditions around growing food go deeper than that. “This program is not only about food, but also about strengthening our Mayan identity,” she said.  

Her own identity has been shaped by her experience as a community promoter. Growing up, she was known primarily as her mother’s daughter. She credits the community promoter program with equipping her with the skills to establish herself as a community leader and make a name for herself. Trainings in organic food production, soil management, agroforestry, data collection and community leadership gave Maidi the confidence to organize community tree plantings and start an after-school gardening program for children. She even cut her hair to a shoulder-length bob, an act of defiance in a society with strong gender expectations.  

After taking us to a nearby spring to plant trees, Maidi explained the local water challenges. The 1300 residents of Pajal had long suffered from a lack of clean water. They could turn on their taps for only a few hours every two weeks. With a new central pump, they are now able to have water two days each week. It’s progress. The trees we planted that morning would one day provide shade and protection for the spring, a valuable source of the community’s water. 

At lunch Maidi had us forming tortillas out of a black corn dough sprinkled with loroco, a local plant rich in iron and vitamin C. Maidi says this kind of hands-on education is an effective way to introduce local school children and their parents to new foods and flavors.  

Then it was on to the home of Doña Anita, a petite woman in her 60’s with an abundant home garden. Carrots, Swiss chard, lettuce, beets, peppers and medicinal plants overflowed their containers as she stood proudly among them. With Maidi’s guidance on organic fertilizers and pesticides, Doña Anita’s small plot is able to feed her family of five and still produce enough to sell to her neighbors. Her 2-year-old garden generates significant extra income for her.  

Just down the road, Doña Anita’s neighbors were planting on an even steeper hillside. Rows of corn and radishes took up land that might otherwise be dedicated to coffee. Growing produce is more profitable, the neighbor said.  

It’s a startling reality check. What if all of Doña Anita’s neighbors decide the hard work, climate challenges and vagaries of coffee commodity pricing are just not worth it? In a community with few options, families increasingly need to know how to diversify their incomes. Food 4 Farmers has responded by introducing farmers markets (where members can sell the excess produce from their home gardens) and beekeeping.  

We are taken deep into a lush coffee plot by the side of the road. Posted high on a tree is a yellow sign: Atencion! Abejas trabajando. Even with my elementary Spanish, I know bees are at work nearby. In addition to pollinating the coffee crop, bees create new sources of income and offer a sweet source of nutrition. We admire the hives and return to the pickup trucks.  

Back at the cooperative several producers sit behind fold-up tables displaying examples of their entrepreneurialism. Soaps, candies, teas, wine, medicinals and honey are all products of the hardworking bees and these coffee farmers. We talk to each producer about the products—how they’re made, where they’re sold, and their challenges to market. Their pride is palpable.  

I buy a soap designed for dark spots and wrinkles—my “mature” skin can use it, and it will be easy to pack in my suitcase. The eight hours back to the airport in Guatemala City will give me time to think about how Food 4 Farmers can scale up and support even more farmers facing seasonal hunger. It’s clear that instead of floating into a community with money and good intentions, Food 4 Farmers works closely with co-ops and their members to determine their needs and how they want to address them. Community Promoters like Maidi are locals and therefore more likely to be accepted than outsiders. And reintroducing traditional knowledge and methods of growing food is an elegantly simple way to address food insecurity. 

But right now I’m surrounded by people who have shared their homes and farms and hopes with me. I am full of gratitude for this experience, and I am inspired to continue my work supporting Food 4 Farmers.