El Salvador: El Jabali

Today we went to visit a coffee co-operative in the mountains of El Salvador. We had an opportunity to meet with Miguel, who is one of the administrators of the co-op. He took us around and showed us the operation and provided a detailed description of how the organic, fair-trade coffee is grown, harvested, and prepared. The entire experience was extremely eye-opening. I have such a new found appreciation for my morning "Cup of Joe."

The trip up the mountain/volcano took over an hour. The roads up the mountain were single lanes of dirt with very tight curves and twists. Cattle, dogs, tree roots, and children were everywhere. Along this road were different communities and homes of peasant farmers. Once arriving at the coffee co-op, Miguel explained that we were 9,000 feet above sea level. We were hardly even half-way up the mountain!!! He explained that the actual coffee plants were still another hour up the volcano as that is where the really good soil can be found. Workers during the harvest make that drive daily, and then when the road ends, they walk a while further to spend all day picking the berries. When the day is done and their packs are full, they then hike the packs down the mountain several miles to the road where the truck can pick them up. The berries then go through a very detailed process of removing the casing of the berry, cleaning the seeds of the "honey" surrounding them, processing the berries, and then drying the berries outside under direct sun for a period of time. The beans are then greenish in color until they are roasted in a machine that fills the building with thick smoke and heats to over 400 degrees. Then the beans can be weighed, measured, and packed and sealed. Our group packed over 200 pounds of coffee that afternoon in a concrete room where the temperature was well over 90 degrees.

WE WERE EXHAUSTED!!

The amount of time and the science behind making the perfect cup of coffee is more then I ever knew. From this experience I see and acknowledge the implications for buying coffee from a relation-based enterprise. The sales from the coffee are put directly back into the business and also provide income for many others like Miguel and his family. Even with the income that Miguel receives from the coffee co-op, he and his family are still living in deep poverty and isolation-issues unmatched and unknown to persons living within The United States. There is such value in knowing where our goods in the United States come from, where our money is being spent, and knowing the the impact of those dollars. We live in a global economy and today I saw first-hand how connected we really are. For me, going to Meijers and buying coffee is no longer an activity that I will do in isolation. The impact of that one transaction has impacts that reaches as far as a tiny community on a volcano in rural forgotten El Salvador. Today was a great honor to meet Miguel and his family and to be so graciously welcomed into their home and into their story.

At last....after about 3 hours of work...a hard earned cup of 100% organic, fairly-traded, El Salvadoran coffee courtesy of the El Jabali Coffee Co-Operative.

This is the processing structure at the co-op. Miguel noted with pride that this technology and equipment was valued just over $40,000.