For those of you still tuning in, I've been back in Brattleboro for a bit over a week now, and will only be in town for another week. I've been spending nearly all my time on my own which is totally awesome 95% of the time and we won't be discussing the other 5 here. If you're a friend I haven't seen since I got back, don't take it personally, I'm in full-on recharge mode, just gimme a call.
Doing lots of art, stretching and exercising, reading about Guatemala, studying spanish, snowshoeing, XC skiing, listening to the radio and reading the paper, preparing for my next trip mentally and materially, hanging out with the family, playing my drums, writing in my journal...that's what's been filling most days lately.
And I've been giving lots of thought to where I'll be in a week and a half, something I haven't really said much of anything about here. Why am I going to Central America? I sometimes feel like I should have a mission, a thesis, a hypothesis, more of an Idea that would justify my being there, more of a purpose than the one I've got. Maybe I'm just nervous because it's coming up quick and may be, aside from organizing activist campaigns or teaching a college course or managing a company, one of the bigger things I've done.
In Mexico, January of 2007, I spent some time with an indigenous coffee farming community, an experience that was completely mind blowing, entirely humbling, and sort of made my brain explode. I was face to face for the first time in such an intensely direct way with colonialism, my white privilege, the real-time effects of neo-liberal globalization and the stories of people who were struggling to survive with dignity in spite of it all. And we were there with the farmers and families of Yunquin for only one full day. Too short. This made me want to go back to Central America and really spend some time on a farm, put in work, learn the language, hear the stories, experience the daily life for longer than a day. So I got back to the US, put in almost two years at a coffee roasting company, a great majority of that as the business manager, and decided after that tenure, having learned much about coffee from the perspective of a North American specialty roaster, that it was time I got back down to where it comes from. So I booked a two-month round trip to Guatemala, contacted a language school, a medium-sized independent high-end socially responsible coffee estate and a co-op of small scale organic, fair trade indigenous farming communities. I intend to keep my ear to the ground when I get there for more contacts, but so far I've got the first two and a half weeks booked. With the rest of the time I'll either find more coffee farms, farmers, communities, estates to explore, carry on to Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama to visit some places I've had in my sights, or hang out on a beach or up a volcano.
I'm going to Central America...
...Because it's important for people to know where the goods they consume originate and under what circumstances.
...Because particularly in the case of coffee, first hand experience at those places of origin is by far more educational and illuminating than any book, article or video could ever be.
...Because when I went to Mexico I could feel my perspective shifting and ideas about what I want to do with my life changing before my eyes. I was more inspired by that trip than anything else I can remember, and I need some more of that.
...Because I believe strongly that it's the responsibility of North American roasters to work side by side and in support of coffee growing communities to work for quality of life as well as quality of coffee, and the best way to do that is to spend time with those communities, listen to them and form relationships directly.
...Because I'm eager to to find out how coffee markets and programs such as Organic, Fair Trade, Cup of Excellence or Rainforest Alliance work
and don't work for farmers, communities and co-ops of different types and sizes.
...Because my goal is to never stop learning about coffee and its consequences, and I figure this is a good way to keep up on it.
...Because I want to share with and enrich my community and work in support of coffee farming communities with whatever knowledge and experience I gain.
...Because it's high time I learned some Spanish.
...Because it's really really cold in Vermont right now. really really really cold.
If you've got any insights or advice, I'm all ears.
This is a photo of the small farm near San Juan Chamelco, outside of Coban, Guatemala where I have been taking spanish lessons for the past two days. My entry into Guatemala was almost too easy, getting picked up from the airport and brought to the guest house, then the next morning a taxi right to the bus to Coban where I was met immediately by my wonderful hosts from the EcoCabaña language school. my lessons are fast paced and the homework is intense. today I have to write about the entire process of coffee production, from the soil to the plant to the harvest to the processing to cupping and grading and roasting, packing and brewing. in spanish! today was my second day! oy. After this intensive week of schooling, I will be free to get up to the fields and stay with coffee farmers for a night or two, hopefully longer. The next step in the plan was to get to a finca where they produce some amazing coffee in Huehuetenango called El Injerto, but late rains have rendered the roads unpassable between Coban and huehue, so I´ll have to go through El Capital to get there, which will take days, and I foresee myself getting distracted in Xela or lago atitlan on the way from Guate to Huehue.
