Episode 5: The Truth Hidden in Coban
I gave the lady my business card thinking this was a bit strange. She took it and said she would be back soon. I was in the highlands of Guatemala near Coban and visiting a large German-owned coffee mill. I was requesting to visit and tour the place. It was a large operation, and by the pictures on the walls of the lobby, it had been here over 100 years. Various managers and employees were pictured… all tall, white, blond-haired Germans. After what seemed like half an hour, the lady came back and said that there could be no tour today but a fellow would be out to see me soon.
As I waited, I reflected on the state of coffee here. Coban is the homeplace of the K’iche (Q’eqchi) tribe, a proud people that trace their roots back to the Mayan nation. They love the earth and the process of growing corn. Their corn patches were growing some of the tallest stalks I have ever seen. And… you could break your leg falling out of a corn field; it was that steep and mountainous. Yet poverty was rampant. For all the abundance of growing things, coffee included, the economic trading model was not working for them.
A middle-aged German gentleman came out to greet me and stated that he would be glad to answer questions. I asked him, “How good is the coffee here?”
“No good,” he said. “It is not a significant crop here.”
Um, that was odd… I thought. I had observed at least 6–8 German folks walking through the lobby and there must be a reason they are here. We made some small talk and I saw very quickly that he was not going to give any information about the coffee. I was interested in its quality, its taste, and uniqueness. According to the gentleman I was talking to, it was not worth spending any time thinking or considering its qualities.
Later that night, with my hosts, we roasted and cupped some local coffee. This was from a small coop of four farmers looking to establish a direct trade model with a USA importer. I was certainly willing to consider it. As we sat talking and drinking coffee late into the night, it became clear to me that these large coffee corporations were strangling the life out of these local farmers.
My hosts said that for over 100 years, this German-owned corporation had been here buying coffee cherries from farmers. The employees were all Germans, except for the very menial tasks of cleaning, shoveling, and simple labor. The expertise was held by foreigners, as to not threaten this corporation’s future. I am certain that earlier that day, found on my business card, my website was perused and the idea of Farm-Direct or direct-trade showed up. That was the last thing this company wanted to encourage or see happen.
Nonetheless, it came—and direct trade is sweeping throughout coffee-producing regions; thank goodness. The era of colonialism and exploitation is over.
I recently received the first (small) shipment from this small co-op… fantastic coffee with the potential to initiate amazing changes to northern Guatemala.
“But let justice roll on like a mighty river…” — Amos 5:24