About This Coffee
300 female producers with Asproguate joined together to create Fuerza de Mujer, a women’s coffee producer group in San Martín Jilotepeque, Acatenango and Atitlán, Guatemala. The Fuerza de Mujer program empowers female coffee producers by providing training for members on financial literacy, farm improvement, health and nutrition.
In addition to coffee production, many women in the Fuerza de Mujer group are also weavers who generate additional income for their families by producing exquisite artisanal fabrics.
Fifteen “inspectors” trained by Asproguate’s head agronomist travel within the Coban, San Martin and Acatenango regions in Guatemala conducting trainings for farmers. Inspectors give 14 to 16 workshops per year. Workshops mainly help farmers in achieving and up-keeping their FTO certifications but they also support farmers in starting side businesses such as shampoo and clothing lines. Inspectors will also bring fertilizers to producers and collect cherries.
For most of the year, Asproguate’s operatives are governed collectively by eight farmer representatives, the lead agronomist and the leader of Asproguate. Four to five representatives from each community meet once per year to vote on how to allocate the cooperative’s Fairtrade premium. There are approximately 260 members present and voting during this assembly.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Fuerza de Mujer members selectively hand harvest their own cherry during the harvest season. Most rely on their immediate family to help with this work, as farm sizes are small. The cooperative then collects cherry from producers. After collection, the cooperative pulps and ferments coffee at their wet mills. Then, parchment is washed in clean water and laid to dry. Asproguate's partner, Dinamica, dry mills and exports the beans.
Coffee in Guatemala
Guatemala boasts a variety of growing regions and conditions that produce spectacular coffees. Today, the country is revered as a producer of some of the most flavorful and nuanced cups worldwide. We are proud to work with several exceptional in-country partners to bring these coffees to market.
The Guatemalan coffee industry experienced a major setback with the 2010 appearance of Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) in Latin America. The epidemic peaked in severity in 2012, and though CLR continues to affect some farms, Guatemala continues to produce high-quality, record-breaking coffees. In 2017, new and varied processing methods pushed prices at the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence contest to record highs.
The quality of coffee being produced in Guatemala is increasing, overall, due to the diversity of the industry’s producers. There are more and more small holder farmers producing exceptional coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming more appealing to so many smallholders because they often offer farmers financing and other support for improving their farming and processing and are frequently able to offer higher prices for cherry than middlemen. Many cooperatives have initiated quality improvement training for farmer members and are becoming more adept at helping members market their coffee as specialty.