Tag Archives: Guatemala

351. “The crisis is in 2014.”

2013-04-18 Comments Off on 351. “The crisis is in 2014.”

CRS is collecting data from smallholder farmers in Central America on the impacts of coffee rust.  So far we have gathered information from 13 cooperatives with more than 6,800 members.  I presented some of the preliminary results yesterday at the coffee rust summit here in Guatemala.  They were not encouraging: production is down by 31 […]

349. Coffee rust: Central America’s official plan of attack

2013-04-16 Comments Off on 349. Coffee rust: Central America’s official plan of attack

This afternoon I will travel to Guatemala City to participate in four days of discussions around coffee rust convened by World Coffee Research and PROMECAFE, a network of national coffee programs in Central America and the Caribbean.  The objective of the meeting is to develop a more detailed strategy for responding to the coffee rust […]

343. Coffee rust: Deja vu all over again?

2013-03-26 Comments Off on 343. Coffee rust: Deja vu all over again?

Last week, agricultural authorities and coffee organizations from Central America holed up in Panama for two days with research institutes, regional banks and UN agencies to try to hammer out a plan for responding to the coffee leaf rust outbreak.  As I trolled the web for news of the meeting’s results, I came across this […]

276. A light goes out in Guatemala

2012-05-28 Comments Off on 276. A light goes out in Guatemala

A light that burned brightly for nearly 50 years on the shores of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala has gone dark: Fr. Greg Schaffer of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, died last week.  During nearly a half-century of committed ministry, Fr. Greg accompanied the mostly indigenous community of San Lucas Tolimán through a painful civil […]

250. The cost of women’s empowerment in Guatemala: 50 cents a week

2012-03-08 Comments Off on 250. The cost of women’s empowerment in Guatemala: 50 cents a week

Our friends from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have published a tribute to women leaders in Guatemala today on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, including reflections from a recent visit to San Miguel de Pochuta, where CRS and GMCR have teamed up to help women save as part of a community-managed savings and loan […]

237. The future of smallholder Fair Trade

2012-02-01 Comments Off on 237. The future of smallholder Fair Trade

Yesterday I participated in an online forum on the future of smallholder Fair Trade hosted by the Fair Trade Resource Nework.  My presentation, in synthesis, went something like this: Fair Trade and Fair Trade Certification have catalyzed smallholder farmer organization and empowerment over the past decade through their support for farmer-led cooperatives.  But there are […]

198. Three principles of “harmonized investment”

2011-09-12 Comments Off on 198. Three principles of “harmonized investment”

A little over a year ago, in a post on industry reinvestment at origin, I raised the prospect of “harmonized investment” — complementary, non-overlapping investments in the coffeelands by diverse actors on the coffee chain.  Recent events have inspired me to revisit the idea.

181. Adios, Guatemala

2011-06-24 Comments Off on 181. Adios, Guatemala

In a few hours I will be boarding a flight for the United States and leaving Guatemala for good after living and working here for nearly four years.  Two nights ago I had dinner and a great discussion with the owner of a coffee estate — a parting conversation that served to remind me of […]

166. Coffee theft increases with high prices

2011-05-13 Comments Off on 166. Coffee theft increases with high prices

Stories are swirling this year about one of the unforunate side effects of high prices — coffee is being stolen.  And it is not just coffee that is getting lost at origin — lives are being lost, too.  In El Salvador, theives recently stole coffee grown by a CRS partner cooperative and killed four security […]

154. CRS (and friends) at SCAA 2011

2011-04-25 Comments Off on 154. CRS (and friends) at SCAA 2011

Tomorrow I travel to Houston for the annual gathering of the SCAA.  CRS has participated in some capacity in every SCAA since 2004, but this year is special.  It marks our first time participating in Symposium, our first time with a booth on the show floor (#441) and the largest CRS delegation ever.  With new […]