Honoring Our Roots | De La Gente’s Journey As We Build a Brighter Future for Coffee Communities in Guatemala
By Aliisa Oake
Our roots begin in small family owned coffee farms in the highlands of Guatemala with dreams of self improvement, generational knowledge, and hard work.
In coffee producing countries, coffee has a unique way of contributing to the country’s national identity and becomes a fundamental part of daily life – especially for the communities involved in coffee cultivation. Despite its cultural and economic significance, many coffee-growing families face limited opportunities for economic growth and lack of access to essential infrastructure.
Elisandro, a coffee producer and member of the Coffee Growers of San Miguel Escobar
A Brighter Future for the Coffee Industry | How De La Gente is Creating Impact
The global coffee industry is often disconnected, making many consumers unaware of what’s involved in the bean-to-cup coffee process. In Guatemala, many families play an essential role in the coffee supply chain, from growing to processing. Decades of skills and techniques get passed down through generations and creates a deep connection between producers and the product, but many coffee producers lack the acknowledgement for their hard work. Additionally, despite the success of Guatemala being recognized as one of the world’s highest quality coffee producing countries, the coffee sector faces several challenges – the most prominent challenges directly impacting small-scale producers and their families.
Despite producing one of the world’s most beloved and widely consumed beverages, and standing at the very beginning of the coffee supply chain, many coffee-growing families struggle to meet basic needs to build and sustain stability in their livelihoods within a global coffee system that often prioritizes volume over people. In Guatemala’s coffee growing regions, small-scale coffee producers face constant challenges – low and unpredictable prices for coffee, limited access to markets, and barriers to education and essential resources. Due to many hardships and limitations present in rural regions of Guatemala, lack of opportunities force coffee producers to migrate to other departments within the country or even to other countries – leaving generations of knowledge behind in the search of improvement.
De La Gente exists to change that.
De La Gente was founded to help overcome these challenges by creating direct market opportunities in the coffee supply chain and expanding access to essential resources – empowering producers to strengthen their livelihoods while building a more equitable coffee system. Since our founding, our vision has been this:
We envision a coffee industry that is equitable and inclusive, that enables small-scale farmers to earn a dignified income and live prosperous lives, that facilitates authentic relationships between coffee producers and buyers, and that prioritizes economic, social, and environmental needs of everyone involved.
At De La Gente, our work is led by our roots. As we’re transforming supply chains and creating impact in the lives of small-scale coffee producers in Guatemala, we honor coffee as a livelihood, legacy, and pathway towards opportunity. De La Gente works with and represents over 140 small-scale producers located in four of Guatemala’s coffee-growing regions, and are members of nine partner cooperatives. Our mission – creating economic opportunities for coffee producing communities – is what continues to connect us to our roots, guiding everything that we do. By using coffee as a vehicle for change, we’re able to channel nearly $350,000 in annual sales directly into our partner coffee-producing communities. Each bag of roasted coffee, community tourism experience, or donation contributes to our work – strengthening our roots at De La Gente and creating a brighter future for coffee producing communities through community-led impact.
Creating Impact Through Coffee — What Support Makes Possible
Our work at De La Gente is not only guided by our vision and collective desire for a brighter future in the coffee industry, but also guided by our four main impact areas. Each impact area serves as a focus point in which we work together with our partner cooperatives to overcome challenges faced by small-scale producers and create a change – where we have turned our values and visions into reality. These impact areas have been our main focuses since our roots, and include our Cooperative Assistance Program, Coffee Commercialization Program, Immersion Program, and Community Tourism Program.
Cooperative Assistance Program
Through our Cooperative Assistance Program, we work to strengthen our partner cooperatives by reinvesting in education about the different aspects involved in coffee, advancing infrastructure, and leadership development. By furthering education and trainings, we’ve provided workshops involving coffee brewing, second-language scholarships, and regenerative agriculture leadership programs. We support and equip our partner coffee producers with tools, training, and resources according to their needs to improve quality of coffee – leading to higher-quality, specialty grade coffee, while adapting to climate and market-related challenges. Through our partnerships with our cooperatives, we also offer a 0% interest micro-loan program that encourages cooperative members to invest in individual or collective developmental projects, further supporting their long-term growth and resilience.
Members of the Women Caficultora Network — our partner cooperative that was implemented to create a brighter future for women in coffee
Coffee Commercialization Program
Our Coffee Commercialization Program has expanded throughout the years through our roasted coffee and green coffee sales. With all of our coffee sales, we work differently than the typical coffee supply chain by providing direct market access for our partner producers while delivering high-quality coffee to roasters and consumers. We’ve formed direct relationships between buyers and producers – removing unnecessary intermediaries and transforming supply chains. De La Gente’s coffee supply chain system was created through our relationship-based trade model, connecting producers and buyers directly and restoring the connection between people and coffee. Through our partnerships with producer-run cooperatives throughout Guatemala’s coffee growing regions, we put coffee producers at the center of every decision. Additionally, by providing seamless online shopping experiences, we encourage our consumers to learn about some of the realities of small-scale coffee producers. Our roasted coffee buyers experience incredible Guatemalan specialty roasted coffee through their online purchases, which directly support the people involved in creating their morning brew.
Community Tourism Program
Beyond roasted coffee, our Community Tourism Program creates additional income opportunities by inviting visitors into producers’ homes and the community of our partner cooperative, The Coffee Growers of San Miguel Escobar. These meaningful exchanges through local, community-based tourism in Antigua Guatemala foster cultural connections and memorable travel experiences while generating sustainable revenue streams that strengthen coffee-growing communities. From coffee tours to cooking classes, and our special combination of both called the Antigua Day Trip, producers lead and facilitate activities so that visitors can authentically and transparently interact with and learn from the local community.
A group of participants gathered in coffee field during their coffee farm tour in Antigua Guatemala
Immersion Program
The De La Gente Immersion Program offers another meaningful way to raise awareness about coffee production and the many people involved in its cultivation. We welcome visitors from around the world to participate in our three Immersion Program offerings – Origin Trips, Educational Trips, or Immersion Trips. By facilitating an authentic cultural exchange through Guatemala’s culture and history, visitors are provided with context to further understand how the coffee industry in Guatemala has evolved into what it is today. These customizable week-long trips also bridge the gap between those who grow coffee and those who enjoy it from around the world, inspiring travelers to make more ethical choices in their coffee consumption.
How You Can Be A Part of Our Story
Each cup of De La Gente coffee symbolizes a brighter future for small-scale coffee producers — bringing us back to our roots and De La Gente’s mission
Support De La Gente as we continue creating positive impact in the lives of small-scale coffee producers in Guatemala. Together, we can continue building a coffee system rooted in dignity, connection, and shared impact. Every cup, every contribution, and every connection helps carry our founding values forward – strengthening our roots as we continue creating a brighter future for small-scale coffee producers in Guatemala.
Visit the Donate page and make a contribution towards our cause. Additionally, visit our Online Shop to purchase a bag of specialty roasted coffee, or reach out to our sales team with any inquiries about our wholesale roasted coffee program or green coffee beans. Through equitable value distribution and transparent partnerships, more of each coffee sale returns to the people who grow it – helping families reinvest in their farms, futures, and communities.
As we’re honoring our roots and reflecting on the success we’ve made towards creating a brighter future for small-scale coffee producers and their communities in Guatemala, we’re reminded that this work has always been collective. Our impact is only possible through community – from the producers who grow each coffee cherry to the supporters who believe in creating a more equitable future for coffee and our work at De La Gente. Over the years, our supporters have stood beside us, growing with us and encouraging us to continue our mission and spreading awareness about the realities of coffee-producing families. Honoring our roots means recognizing that meaningful change is never achieved alone – it’s built through partnerships, shared values, and a commitment to uplifting the people at the heart of Guatemala’s coffee industry – which is something that we’ve been incredibly grateful for since our organization’s founding.
Be a part of our story.
