Volunteer Reflection : Inspiring stay at Vamay Coffee in Costa Rica

Reflection

Jun 22

— a reflection written by Sae Mizumura,
a summer volunteer intern.

In the middle of April 2023, I visit a town called Santa Maria de Dota for the first time. After a 2-hour bus ride from San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, I arrived in a small town beautifully surrounded by mountains, where I could feel that everybody was so close to one another.

As the canton of Dota is a well-known place for high-quality coffee, almost all the population living in Santa Maria de Dota are engaged in the coffee industry. Vamay Coffee, the farm I visited this time, is one of those small coffee farms producing coffee in the town. The family welcomed me with warm hospitality and taught me a lot about their coffee farm and business. The house was always filled with the smell of coffee, and coffee beans were found everywhere in the house for sorting and packing for samples.

Delfina, the eldest daughter of the family who is currently in charge of the operation of the farm with her brother, Eduardo Jose, especially shared with me a lot of information during my 3-days of stay. The journey with the coffee farm was not an easy one for Delfina’s family – the business had been in red, struggling to survive when her mother and brother took over the farm from their father after the parents’ divorce. The farm was a mess without proper maintenance. After hearing their tough story, I was surprised to see how well-maintained the farm was right now after Delfina decided to join the family business and became more involved in improving the business in 2020.

Bean Voyage’s involvement has clearly contributed to this positive change in the farm. Delfina mentioned to me that Bean Voyage gave her connections and new opportunities by introducing international buyers who are open and transparent, and hold sustainability in their minds, and that provided the family stability to the business. Her mother, Mayra said that gaining more knowledge from different aspects such as finance, ecology, and plants through Bean Voyage’s training was beneficial for her. But the most important thing Bean Voyage provided them was confidence. The confidence that was instilled in them that they were able to build a thriving business and future for themselves.

They were clearly empowered through the program by Bean Voyage, and I was able to see that they are proud of their coffee’s quality, confident to negotiate with international buyers and so certain that they can achieve much more with the farm. I was truly inspired by the positive energy backed by their confidence and pride in their coffee and got to realize that this is the real value that Bean Voyage is delivering through its programs.

We also talked about the gender issues surrounding the coffee industry in Costa Rica. From Delfina, I understood that the gender gap between men and women in the industry has been multi-layered. She mentioned that not only the relationships between buyers and workers, but the distribution of money within the family is equally severely gendered and has been problematic. Bean Voyage, by giving more power and agency to women to be more responsible for the operation of their coffee farms, indirectly helps and improves this gendered situation as well.

Talking with Delfina about the business and her dream was such an inspiring experience. She had a lot of opinions about corporate sustainability, what I am studying at UPEACE now, and gave me different perspectives on business sustainability from a small yet ambitious entrepreneur’s point of view. The stay at Vamay Coffee made me rediscover why I am studying at UPEACE and gave me a stronger determination that I want to be part of the betterment of the world especially in sustainable development.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the family of Vamay Coffee – Delfina and her husband Eduardo, Dalila, Eduardo Jose, and their mother, Mayra – for giving me such a precious and enriching experience and welcoming me so warmly as one of the family members.

Sae is a recent graduate from the UN-Mandated University for Peace and started her internship with us during her stay in Costa Rica. She currently resides in Singapore where she is continuing her studies while also volunteering with Bean Voyage. The reflection piece has been written by Sae.