Monthly Archives: June 2010

67. Blood in the coffee fields

2010-06-28 Comments Off on 67. Blood in the coffee fields

The mountainous terrain where quality coffee thrives provides welcome cover to revolutionary groups, and invites the presence of the counter-revolutionary forces that stalk them. This dynamic has put coffee communities in the cross-fire from Mexico to Peru since the early 20th century. The cries of innocent victimes continue to echo loudly through the coffeelands.

66. Writing the book on coffee and development

2010-06-24 Comments Off on 66. Writing the book on coffee and development

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a long afternoon with Dean Cycon of Dean’s Beans with no particular agenda other than talking about the coffeelands and drinking some good coffee.  Four hours after he welcomed me into his office, I left with an armful of coffee, some great Dean’s Beans swag, […]

65. Nicaragua – parting shots

2010-06-21 Comments Off on 65. Nicaragua – parting shots

I am back in the office today after nearly two weeks in Nicaragua where I participated in the Food Security Solutions event and met with CAFE Livelihoods partner organizations. I will be profiling them and all the project’s partners in the coming months. Meantime, some parting shots from my travels in Nicaragua.

64. Lunch at Monte Cristo

2010-06-17 Comments Off on 64. Lunch at Monte Cristo

I am 10 days and about 800 long-slog miles into a visit to the coffeelands in Nicaragua that will end tomorrow when I get on a flight home to Guatemala. One of the highlights of the visit so far was having lunch earlier this week with Don Jaime Molina on his Monte Cristo farm. Jaime placed second at the Nicaragua Cup of Excellence competition in April; a few days before our visit, his coffee sold at auction for $12.55 a pound.

63. Selva Negra photo tour

2010-06-15 Comments Off on 63. Selva Negra photo tour

The Selva Negra coffee farm and resort — and its gracious owners Mausi and Eddy Kuhl — hosted last week’s Food Security Solutions event. The farm is an extraordinary place that has been recognized for its sustainability practices. It is a very special place that was hard to leave — here are some images to suggest why.

62. Final thoughts on Food Security Solutions

2010-06-14 Comments Off on 62. Final thoughts on Food Security Solutions

The Food Security Solutions event has ended, but it is my hope and expectation that its impacts will make themselves felt in coffee communities throughout the Americas for years to come.

61. Family gardens and food security

2010-06-13 Comments Off on 61. Family gardens and food security

Today I rejoined the family gardens workshop during the fourth and final day of Food Security Solutions — a hands-on training opportunity during which a small group of coffee farmers and folks like me turned a flat pitch of ground into two vegetable gardens.

60. Day 3 — Food Security Solutions

2010-06-12 Comments Off on 60. Day 3 — Food Security Solutions

Yesterday — day three of Food Security Solutions — we began the day by dividing into groups again to begin another two-day workshop. In the evening, we ended the day by coming together to discuss an issue that affects us all and will shape the food security lanscape for generations to come — climate change. In between, I found time to visit with farmers and staff of CECOCAFEN and spend some time with the very talented photographer Clay Enos.

59. Coffee and mushrooms (part 2)

2010-06-11 Comments Off on 59. Coffee and mushrooms (part 2)

Yesterday the coffee and mushroom workshop at Food Security Solutions moved from talk to action.

58. Coffee and mushrooms

2010-06-10 Comments Off on 58. Coffee and mushrooms

I spent the first day of the Food Security Solutions event here in Nicaragua with a few dozen coffee farmers talking about — and searching for — mushrooms. Today was (mostly) talk. We were sent on a scavenger hunt during the lunch recess, tasked with finding big, beautiful or otherwise notable mushrooms. Here are some samples of the incredible finds that people made.