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Hanging Out in Huehue -
2/8/2010
Posted By:
Steve Hawthorne
Huehuetengo (prounounced "way-way-te-nane-go") is a coffee growing region in northewestern Guatemala. It truly is too beautiful for words. We arrived to the area around 9am and traded in our bus for several four wheel drive pickup trucks. The journey was a climb taking us up to an elevation of 1500 meters. We were met at the farm by Arturo Aguirre and his son Arturro Jr - the third and fourth generation owners of El Injerto.
The Aguirre family has done a fantastic job of building an incredible farm and their hard work is evident in the quality of their coffee. One of the first things that stood out to me was the cleanliness of their land and mill. We've seen a wide spectrum of facilities during our tour in Guatemala, but this was by far the best. I also had a converstation with Arturro Jr and I asked him if he exported his own coffee. He told me that he did not, becuase in order to export coffee he would have to go into the city and "push paper around." He prefers to be on the farm monitoring quality. He said "There is a difference between farmers and farm owners...my father and I are farmers and we are actively involved on our farm." This too was evident to me.
El Injerto is known back home in the states for their quality. To acheive this, the Aguirre family has decided that they must treat their people well. The family pays more than any other farm in the area because they expect more from their pickers. They only want coffee cherries that are perfectly ripe. If they bring back unripe cherries, they have to take their picking to drying tables and sort out the unripe beans. This practice contributes to the qualty flavor of El Injerto's produc.t The farm also does not use any chemical pesticides or fertilizers, they are certified by the Rainforest Alliance for the social and environmental stewardship and they have built a hydroelectric plan that uses their mill water to generate electricity.
The highlight of my trip thus far was being at the Aguirre family's mill as the pickers came in from the fields to deposit their harvest. In a matter of minutes, hundreds of people and their families came down from the mountains with sacks of coffee cherries strapped to their back. They waited in line to deposit their harvest and receive a voucher for their days wages as well as dinner provided by the family. The Aguirres also installed a television above the line for deposting cherries so that the pickers could watch TV as they waited to drop off their harvest. All of the pickers seemed so happy and friendly. The children swarmed around all of us "gringos" and asked us to take their picture. When we showed them the pictures on our digital cameras, they laughed and giggled - I think many of them had never seen one before.
It was an amazing day in Huehue and I'll have more to share when I return home. Until then, I've included a photo of one of the picker families sorting their days harvest.
Adios amigos y amigas!
-Steve
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