Reflection from Bean Voyage’s Expansion Trips to Guatemala and Mexico, July — August 2021

Waking up to the unmistakable outline of the Fuego Volcano, we could only be in one place: Antigua, Guatemala. Abhi, Sunghee, and I (Alice) were on a two-week Guatemala and Mexico sprint to research possible options for Bean Voyage’s expansion. The main goal would be learning and meeting potential partners since although we know our model works in Costa Rica, we don’t want to presume that would be the case elsewhere.

First Stop: Guatemala

First up, we went to chat with Chica Bean. Technically a roastery, they are situated high above Antigua, overlooking a valley of volcanoes. Talk about an inspiring workspace! They source their coffees from women smallholder producers, with whom they have a direct connection. Their model involves roasting the coffee at origin in Guatemala, before exporting to markets such as the United States. As there are so many shared values between our two organisations, it was great to hear their perspective on the existing landscape of women in coffee in Guatemala. We got to see their roasting facilities and hear all about their involvement with the local community in every aspect of the organisation. Plus, we had the chance to sample some of their delicious coffee!

Meeting with IDEI in Quetzaltenango

Our next stop was Asociación IDEI in Quetzaltenango, an NGO which has been working for almost 30 years on the social welfare of Indigenous populations. When they started, they focused on health, specifically providing education on the risks of HIV and AIDS. In addition, they are now supporting coffee-producing communities. Their population-specific approach is massively inspiring: all of their programmes are delivered in different Indigenous languages, and they even incorporate elements of Mayan belief systems. They gave us a lot of food for thought!

In need of a rest, we stopped for a couple of nights by Lake Atitlán. There, aside from appreciating the beautiful scenery, we connected with Café Loco, a coffee shop, and roastery selling local coffee from the area. Surprisingly, the whole team is Korean! We found out that although there are many coffee-producing families in the area, many of their lots are so small that producers are forced to mix their products with others, in order to appeal to buyers.

Meeting with a young Guatemalan congressman, Samuel Pérez Álvarez in Guatemala City

Although it would admittedly be easy to never leave Lake Atitlán, we soon had to head out to Guatemala City to continue our research. Firstly, we set up a meeting with a young Guatemalan congressman, Samuel Pérez Álvarez. It really is true that el mundo es un pañuelo: it turns out that his father was Abhi’s Economics teacher at high school in Canada! We spoke of the difficulties facing the coffee sector and its institutions in Guatemala, and he pointed us towards several helpful organisations. It’s great to see that there are politicians taking issues like this seriously.

Later on, we met with two representatives from the Asociación de Mujeres en Café, Guatemala. Affiliated with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) but set up independently, they have big dreams for their growth. However, as it stands, their association is not accessible to smallholder producers lacking disposable income, due to membership fees. It was interesting to hear their frustration with the lack of training available to smallholder coffee producers in Guatemala, even for those willing to pay. Nevertheless, having heard from many people in Guatemala that the NGO space in the country is massively overcrowded, we would have to tread very carefully before implementing Care Training there. Many communities no longer trust the intentions or the capability of organisations, and we want to steer clear of being yet another organisation that offers little in the way of results.

With that in mind, let’s turn to Mexico!

Casa Colectivo Rokunin / Credit: Sunghee Tark

After a brief pitstop in Mexico City to celebrate Abhi’s birthday with the obligatory tacos, we headed east to Veracruz, a lush region stretching from verdant coffee-producing valleys all the way to the coast. In Mexico, our host organisation was Colectivo Rokunin, a young all-female organisation based in Coscomatepec, Veracruz. Their projects have notably included Flowers of the Coffee Field, in which they documented the flora growing in coffee farms. They would then use this flora to create stunning floral headdresses and photograph the women coffee producers wearing them, to encourage recognition of the crucial work of women in coffee-producing communities.

We spent a full day visiting different coffee-producing communities in the Veracruz region. First, we met with Doña Carmen, an octogenarian who puts everyone to shame with her energy, determination, and knowledge. We visited her farm and her micro-mill where she processes such high-quality coffee that it has won Mexico’s Taza de Excelencia (1)!

Next, we met with some Indigenous communities. This area of Mexico is one of the poorest in the world. There is massive exploitation of coffee farmers by big corporations, with representatives of companies such as Nescafé taking advantage of producers’ lack of market access.

They buy up enormous quantities of coffee cherries, paying producers as little as $0.25 per kilogram. Unsurprisingly, it is difficult for such farmers to break even, let alone make a profit.

In Naranjal, Veracruz

The following day, we had the opportunity to cup coffees of the producers we had met, and we were unexpectedly joined by Q-grader and Bean Voyage’s long-term partner from Centro Agricola Cantonal de Desamparados (CACD), Alexis Calvo Valverde! While there was undoubtedly room for improvement in some of the producers’ processing methods, we were delighted to find lots of potential and promise for the future!

Cupping with Colectivo Rokunin and Alexis Calvo / Credit: Sunghee Tark

So, what next?

Thanks in large part to our strong connection with Colectivo Rokunin, we have decided that for the moment, our focus in terms of expansion will be Mexico. Their values, community connections, and wide contact base mean that they are a partner we can trust on the ground.

Moreover, we feel that Bean Voyage’s market contacts and training experience have the potential to bring real transformation to coffee-producing communities in Mexico and to bring them the recognition they deserve. We equally see ways that cooperation between Colectivo Rokunin and Bean Voyage can be mutually beneficial, by providing a two-way collaboration, with the potential for Rokunin to bring their Flowers of the Coffee Field project to Costa Rica, for instance

This doesn’t mean we’re dismissing the idea of expanding into Guatemala; rather, with this being our first expansion into another country, we’d like to invest resources into one project at a time.

Expanding beyond Costa Rica is a big step for Bean Voyage, and we couldn’t be more excited to start working with Colectivo Rokunin to tackle gender inequality in more communities.

Thank you to all who took the time to meet us and accompany us on our learning journey!

¡Hasta pronto, México!

Written by Alice Mee

Edited by Kayla Sippl

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(1) Cup of Excellence (COE) is “the premier specialty coffee competition that discovers amazing coffees and rewards the farmers” — learn more at https://cupofexcellence.org