Inicio Nacionales Campesinos de Sololá exportan “Café Justicia”

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Campesinos de Sololá exportan “Café Justicia”
Nacionales por Diario La Hora - feb 8, 2015

In the February 8, 2015 issue of Nacionales por Diario La Hora, a daily newspaper in Guatemala, an article was publish telling the story and history about Café Justicia and the CCDA. Below is the English translation of this article as translated by EIA member Jordan Bishop.

Campesionos de Sololá export “Café Justicia”

Por Regina Pérez
lahora@lahora.com.gt

From 2002 the Guatemala altiplano exports to Canada, the United States, Sweden and Germany “Café Justicia”. This is produced by campesionos de Sololá who cultivate the beans in the finca “El Paraíso”, located in San Antonio Palopó, whose incomes not only represent economic benefits for their members, but also the possibility of having access to land and social justice.

The history of Café Justicia goes back to 1998, when the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), founded in 1982, acquired a finca that had been abandoned in San Antonio Palopó with help from a Church in the United States. They worked these lands and restored the production of coffee that previous owners had begun, but in this case had abandoned.

Leocadio Juracán, coordinator of CCDA tells us that when they began to harvest and produce coffee in the finca, since it had been abandoned, provided a good moment to begin to work organically, which was a “plus”; in addiiton, the plantation was located at an altitude of 1500 metres above sea level, which allowed for the production of a special arabic coffee, shade grown, which is preferred in the international market.

Depa12 lc 300x199. The campesinos of Sololá export “Café Justicia”. “We had no knowledge of dry transformation, exporting, licences, shipping, packaging and the like...” He says. Since they could not convert it themselves, lacking the machinery, they bought the services of treating and exporting from the Federación de Cooperativas Agrícolas de Productores de Café de Guatemala (Fedecocagua) who treated the coffee and exported it.

Until 2002 they produced bulk coffee, as they acquired contacts in foreign countries, such as Canada, the US, Germany and Sweden in order to establish a market.

In recent years, the producers of CCDA have exported more than 3500 quintals of coffee, principally to Canada, where over 22 brands buy coffee beans.

Juracán pointed out that each shop could brand the coffee as they wished: for example, there are some businesses that sell it as “Café Justicia”, others “Café breaking the silence” or “Café Paraíso” or “Café Cerro de Oro”.

The campesiono leader pointed out that the name the coffee is sold under is not their concern, but they do demand that on the back of the bag it is explained where it comes from, who produces it, and what is their objective.

Juracán pointed out that one of their objectives is access to land and the search for social justice: “This is not simply a way to buy and sell coffee. It is a question of promoting integral rural development in Guatemala, of generating employment and foreign currency”.

Tied to all this, the campesino leader explained that their methods of production are organic, they have a biofactory to produce organic liquid fertilizer and their water is treated, which allows them to avoid contaminating Atitlán lake.

Depal2 lb 300x225 The campesinos of Sololá export “Café Justicia”. LA ROYA WAS AN OPPORTUNITY”.

Referring to one of the problems that has impacted the production of coffee in the country, Juracán noted that the disease of roya provided an “opportunity”, since because of the economic situation of the small producers, they had not wanted to renew their plants, something that they had to do when the disease arrived.

While the old plants yielded five or six quintals in a parcel of land, they now harvest up to 25 quintals.

The coordinator added that in the last three years they have planted nearly half a million plants.

OTHER PROJECTS

The production of coffee is not the only project of the CCDA. There is also production of bees, macadamia nut, community tourism, a biofactory and the establishment of a granary for basic grains, since one of their priorities is to guarantee food for the population, in order that the communities can practice autonomy and lower the indices of malnutrition.

CCDA

The CCDA is an organization that seeks access to land for campesinos. It was founded in 1982 and now has seats in 13 departments and 64 municipalities. At least 74 thousand small farms belong to the campesina organization, although not all are productive, since many are preparing land or looking to regularize their situation.

The organization has gained access to 76 fincas for their members, involving over 3 thousand 500 producers.

They have an agreement with the Faculty of Agriculture of USAC to prepare 60 young people in a diploma programme on Agroecology, to work in projects such as the production of coffee.

Exportation
Café Justicia

Over 3500 qyintals of coffee have been exported from the country, pricipally to Canada, where it is sold under several brand names: “Café Justicia”, “Café Breaking the Silence”, “Cfé Paraíso”, “Café Atitlán”, among others.