Giving Back This Festive Season | How Your Donation Creates Positive Impact in the Coffee Journey
By Aliisa Oake
The festive season always fills the air with warmth, generosity, and the spirit of giving back, reminding us that the most meaningful gifts are the ones that create a positive impact. This time of year, we are able to share warmth that spreads beyond our homes and into the lives of those around us – whether near or far.
At De La Gente, this is also a time to recognize the people behind every cup of coffee, as we invite others to join us as we work towards overcoming challenges in the coffee journey from its very beginning – long before your first sip.
Coffee producer, Mercedes, taking care of coffee plant
Overcoming Challenges - Our Work in Creating Positive Impact
Coffee producer, Carlos Humberto, processing coffee cherries using a depulping machine
In Guatemala, 97% of coffee producers are small-scale farmers, but they produce less than half of the country’s coffee and also receive the lowest wages in the coffee supply chain. One of the greatest challenges for small scale producers in the industry involves unfair pricing and the layers of complexity bringing forward many boundaries within the supply chain. This is among other uncontrollable issues which involve the environment, such as pests and diseases, all impacting production yields and their overarching effects on coffee producers and their families.
In our work at De La Gente, we seek to overcome these challenges as we assist our partner coffee producers access more opportunities, such as education and financing to be self-sufficient as they build their businesses and provide for their families. Our mission is to create more economic opportunities for coffee producing communities in Guatemala and your donation strengthens our work and our partner producers in each stage of their coffee journey.
The Coffee Journey - Each Stage That Donations Support
The coffee journey begins within the soil of the slopes of volcanoes where small seeds are carefully planted and nurtured – a small coffee seed being a symbol for opportunity. At this foundation, young seedlings lay the foundation for a future of growth as they develop and mature in preparation for their first harvest and for years to come. This vital beginning of the coffee journey is made possible from donations that amplify our capabilities and assist coffee producers expand upon and strengthen their work as they maintain plant nurseries, increase the quality of growing conditions, and build the foundation that supports future yields and long-term resilience. This also supports us in providing training programs about sustainable cultivation practices, soil conservation, and knowledge of climate change adaptations.
After a year of careful maintenance, coffee saplings are ready for the next stage of their coffee journey. The saplings are taken from plant nurseries and transplanted into their new homes – the coffee farms located on slopes of volcanoes. Here, they will grow strong and begin producing coffee after three years. This labor-intensive period of careful protection and pruning is critical for the future success of the crop as they need to be warded from pests and unpredictable weather conditions. By giving back, you’re nurturing the growth and advancement of their farms and the people who depend on them, while also providing more access to materials and covering maintenance costs that small-scale coffee producers struggle to afford.
Coffee saplings before being planted in nurseries
After four years of slow, determined growth, coffee plants will reach full maturity and begin producing coffee cherries. Harvest season always symbolizes a celebration of hope and fosters endurance. Additionally, during coffee harvest, each coffee cherry is carefully picked by hand at the perfect moment of ripeness. This community-wide effort is a time of incredible hard work and dedication, but also a time of collective joy felt by everyone involved in the process. In this stage of the coffee journey, your contributions support fundings for training programs, purchasing any materials needed for harvesting, and ensuring that coffee producers are paid fairly for their labor.
Following the months (usually a five month-long period) devoted to harvest season and careful tending to coffee trees, the next stage of the coffee journey begins. Harvested coffee cherries are further transformed into high-quality coffee, soon to be ready for export. The post-harvest process is incredibly intricate and essential in determining the final flavor profile and potential of each lot of coffee. Donations play a vital role in this process by helping cooperatives upgrade the tools and infrastructure needed for de-pulping, fermenting, washing, drying, and milling coffee. Contributions also assist in funding the purchase of electric de-pulping machines, the construction of fermentation tanks and drying patios, and investments in milling equipment – overall reducing the need for strenuous manual labor. These improvements save time, increase efficiency, boost quality, and raise the value that producers can earn from their coffee.
Parchment coffee on drying patio at Santa Anita Cooperative, located in the San Marcos coffee growing region of Guatemala
After the processing stage, coffee is ready for its next step beyond its origin and out into the world – but how it gets there makes the greatest difference. In the typical coffee exportation stage, many middlemen are involved such as local traders, specialized exporters, transporters, and importers in the destination countries. In this indirect trade process, the multiple layers of middlemen and language barriers result in a complex supply chain with less transparency, leading to a lower pay-rate for coffee producers, leaving them with a fraction of what it costs for their work. De La Gente’s relationship-based trade model ensures that the producers who are part of our partner cooperatives sell their coffee at fair prices and are able to keep more income within their communities. By diminishing additional and unnecessary middlemen, we work directly with coffee producers and the final buyer and consumer, ensuring that producers receive fair, transparent prices for their coffee.
Your donations help us work towards strengthening fair and equitable market connections while supporting export logistics, marketing, and individual community-based development projects. All of these aspects, and more, are involved in our efforts towards empowering coffee producers in Guatemala to operate independently and share their own stories. This investment ensures that each stage of the coffee journey is respected and that the true value of high quality, specialty coffee remains in the hands of the people who grow and prepare it for export.
Giving Back This Festive Season - Strengthening Coffee Communities
When you give back this festive season, your donation creates a positive impact and isn’t just a gesture of goodwill, but becomes the seed for new opportunity and growth. Every donation creates a ripple effect across coffee growing communities in Guatemala – empowering the next generation of coffee producers, ensuring sustainable livelihoods for communities, and building resilience required for the next year’s harvests. Your gift supports the future of coffee producing families in Guatemala and our team as we drive meaningful change in each stage of the coffee journey.
Coffee producer, Virgilia, harvesting coffee cherries in fields in Antigua coffee growing region
At De La Gente, we remain committed to addressing and overcoming the challenges that small-scale producers face within the coffee industry. Many coffee producers lack the access to the financing, training, and market connections that would allow them to grow their businesses and be self-sufficient. Through our programs, we work alongside our partner cooperatives in coffee producing regions of Guatemala to open the doors for these opportunities – helping producers improve their quality, access fair markets, and build the necessary skills and connections to the global coffee industry, outside of their rural communities.
Every dollar given supports real people – coffee producers, their families, and their communities – who rely on coffee as a crop, but also view coffee as a major aspect of their livelihood and legacy. From seed to cup, your generosity keeps the coffee journey moving forward. Every harvest you support carries a story of resilience, dignity, and shared hope – a story made stronger through your contribution and willingness to give back this festive season.
This Festive Season, Give the Gift of Positive Impact
Support us in creating a change in Guatemala’s coffee journey. We deeply appreciate any donations and support in our work!
