After a 20-hour journey, I land in Guatemala City. It immediately feels good and even familiar to be here for the second time this year. Don Bayron awaits me enthusiastically and fatigue fades into the background for a moment. I still want to protest, but in vain he takes over my luggage and leads me to his bright red Toyota, which I immediately recognize from earlier this year. We have 40 km to go to Antigua, where Oscar and Wilfrido are expecting me, but due to heavy traffic the drive takes over three hours. Don Bayron laughingly complains about how stressful driving in the city is. We talk, listen to music, and as soon as I realize how long it is, I doze off.
Reunion
Around 9 pm we arrive in Antigua. A happy reunion with Oscar and Wilfrido who have just returned from a few days in Santa Avelina (where the cooperative Maya Ixil has its base of operations and with whom Ray&Jules also works). We go for a quick dinner, but fatigue makes me stumble over my words and mix unintelligible Spanish, French and English. Time to go to bed-Oscar and Wilfrido see and we check out.
spectacular landscapes and vibrant villages
The next morning we leave for Quetzaltenango (Xela popularly speaking) to visit Doña Olga, her daughter Alejandra and granddaughter Isabella. The 160-km drive takes a whole day-the Guatemalan roads and stops. Wilfrido and Oscar decide to take a detour past Lago Atitlán, a beautiful place I visited in 2021 and immediately excited me. We traverse spectacular volcanic landscapes and vibrant villages full of color, smell and bustle unknown in Europe. As I enjoy and get used to the language pool, I listen to Oscar and Wilfrido, talking passionately about coffee.
Animated conversations about coffee alternate with beautiful landscapes
The next morning, Doña Olga, Alejandra, Isabella, Oscar and I leave early in her pickup. The weather remains changeable. As soon as we leave town, nature overwhelms us. We stop occasionally for a photo and catch up. Alejandra points out to us the many tattered street dogs. When we see a large brown dog with an open wound around its eye, she gets tears in her eyes. She asks Oscar to stop at a pharmacy, buys medicine and a piece of bread. Only after she makes sure the dog eats it do we drive on.
And then the first coffee bushes appear, their red berries gleaming ready for the first pick. Not much later we turn onto the road to Finca San Florencio. I feel genuine excitement-it is so beautiful here, so peaceful. We are here!
We unload the van, with supplies for a whole army. Maria meets us and warmly hugs everyone. She helps maintain the farm and, despite her disability, she is clearly crazy about Olga, Alejandra and Isabella. We make fire together, greet the many dogs they shelter and enjoy breakfast with -naturally- fresh coffee.
We put our things in the rooms and then head to the beneficio, where the berries are washed. There we meet Benancio, the finca manager. We help him wash the first coffee and talk about his work. Soon the conversation turns to salaries-it seems there is a pay gap between men and women. Oscar and I listen and decide to discuss this with Olga later.
Benancio takes us to see the pickers. We meet Maria's mother and her niece, who have been working since 6 o'clock. At first they are shy, but soon they ask curiously who we are and what we are doing here. They look beautiful in their colorful attire among the coffee bushes. The niece does not want her picture taken and ducks away, a heavy bag on her back, deftly descending the steep slope. Oscar and I help pick for a while and then return to assist Benancio in unpicking and washing the berries.
We are called to the table. Olga and Alejandra once again spoil us with the most delicious dishes. I cannot remember all the names, but mostly I taste things I have never eaten before. What hospitality!
After the meal, I insist on doing the dishes. Maria observes me and smiles secretly, but when I address her, she gets shy and turns away. Washing up is done in a low pumping stone-or maybe we Europeans are just too big-with cold, fresh river water. They have their own methods, and when I see Maria's pretend eyes, I realize I still have something to learn.
Afterwards, we walk to Aunt Alba's farm. In February we bought 1400 kg of her coffee, and this year we would buy her entire crop. together with that of doña Olga, we would have almost enough to buffer the year. Alba recognizes me, as does her daughter Betty, who run the finca together.
Alba asks if I want to buy her coffee, with the same fiery look I had in February. I nod, and she falls into my arms. Doña Alba is in her 70s, her husband has died and her other daughter lives in Xela. She is happy here with Betty, her animals and feet in the earth. Her gaze confirms this. Those 2 women so alone on this remote farm, what simplicity and at the same time this feels so punishing and grand. Doña Alba herself says she wouldn't want to grow old anywhere else.
We step back and pick up trash along the road again, just like in February. It begins to rain, but the temperature remains warm.
our impact, immediately obvious
Back in San Florencio, we talk to doña Olga about salaries and the organic label. I realize how relative everything is. It is their reality by which they have learned what is feasible and livable. The pickers, mostly women, are paid less because their work is considered lighter. The men, who do heavier work, get a little more. Since we buy, Olga has been able to raise salaries, which has allowed her to attract more workers. She is now competitive compared to surrounding fincas. Thanks to the good price Ray&Jules paid, she was also able to buy two chainsaws. Until now, everything was done with the machete. Time intensive, very hard work and above all: just start keeping track of 40 acres of “wild life” with some machetes. Clearly hard work has been done on the plantation, we see a difference; there is more light, the coffee plants have more space again and more pruning has been done.
When I asked in February what doña Olga and Alejandra's biggest concerns were, they mentioned the labor shortage and uncertainty about the price of coffee. I ask doña Olga the same question and she says her biggest challenge now is to increase plant productivity. I ask if she remembers what answer she gave eight months ago. She looks at me and smiles, “Everything changes when you get a good price for your coffee and know it will be the same next year. Since February we knew that Ray&Jules would buy our coffee, we had more money because of the good price and that allowed us to dream of investment and quality again.”
Everything changes when you get a good price for your coffee and you know it will be the same the following year
concerns about the bio-transition
We also discuss the organic transition, which has clearly left wounds ... Doña Olga stepped into the process for the organic label, but lost so much of her crop and income that she does not want to take this risk again. She understands the demand, but is not sure how to get started. Due to the low yield of coffee, she has not lived on the finca for years, but in Xela, where she works as a teacher. On weekends she is here, but a bio-transition requires expertise and close monitoring, which she does not have at the moment. She wants productivity back to its old level first. I nod. It is important that we from the West listen carefully to stories that play out in a different context. It's nice to see that her biggest concerns from 8 months ago (labor shortage and price uncertainty) have now shifted to focus on making the coffee plants healthier so they yield more.
Despite the darkness and rain, I suggest a walk. Olga stays home, but Alejandra, Oscar, Isabella and I head out. We climb up the plantations through small paths. Alejandra talks about the flowers, trees and plants and conjures up all kinds of scientific names and varieties. Oscar who is an agronomist can follow along well, but I drop out a bit. It gets a little too specific for me. I walk ahead with Isabella, who talks enthusiastically about her ballet classes. We do some dance steps, give dogs avocados and laugh at Oscar and Alejandra who can't keep up with us.
It gets dark soon, Isabella gets scared, so we turn back. A delicious meal and a bottle of tequila await. Isabella suggests playing UNO and we have the best evening together. The laughter must have been heard far into the valley. How beautiful is this? That night I do not sleep well because of the intense conversations, the tequila, the barking of the dogs and crowing of the roosters.
The next morning I wake up to a grotesque bird concert. It reminds me of my previous visit, but again I am impressed. I get up and go to the large bamboos on the patio and settle down on the ground. Lots of hummingbirds fly off and on. After breakfast, Olga and Alejandra take care of some business with the pickers, Benancio and the dogs. I walk around, try to write down some things and take pictures and videos for the home front. Fatigue overwhelms me - little sleep, the journey, the different language and the constant urge to take it all in. What a paradise. On the way back, Olga tells me she is nearing retirement and then wants to focus entirely on coffee. She sounds determined.
Later, Alejandra says she does not question her mother's desire to focus entirely on coffee, but she does worry about the loneliness on the finca. It is so quiet there, and she thinks her mother underestimates this. After another 3 hours in the car, we arrive in Xela, where Olga prepares a “simple” meal. Wilfrido, Don Bayron, a niece and Alejandra's sister and husband join us. It is a convivial gathering and Wilfrido makes us a delicious cup of coffee.
When it is time to say goodbye, I leave coffee and chocolate, try to say some nice words (although I can hardly talk anymore from fatigue). The goodbye is warm and heartfelt. A deep feeling of gratitude shooting in all directions is palpable. Dona Olga takes hold of me with all her body and squeezes my arms for a long time. Don Bayron, Oscar and I leave for the long drive back to Guatemala City.
This moment is so meaningful to me, to Ray&Jules, to our clients and certainly to these three powerful women
After my first visit to Doña Olga, Alejandra and Isabella in February this year, this second visit came faster than expected. How things sometimes come your way spontaneously and opportunities present themselves. It was valuable to see each other again after such a short time. The contact was warmer, more sincere and trusting. The caution of February was gone, and the conversations were open and honest. We laughed a lot with these three generations of women at their kitchen table, playing cards, tortillas and tequila. All of this is so meaningful to me personally, to Ray&Jules as a company, our customers who drink the coffee with this story, and certainly to these three powerful women whose blood carries the color and spirit of coffee (as they say themselves 😊). The next day Oscar and I waited for our flight to Managua, Nicaragua. An unknown adventure for both of us. I sleep in a hotel room that night and for the first time I sleep really well!
