Celebrating the season of giving thanks in Guatemala
Silvestre, a producer from San Miguel Escobar explains what this time of year feels like for him: “I feel very grateful when we meet as a group to talk about coffee sales or projections for next year. They are very gratifying moments.” Silvestre, who has been cultivating coffee for 25 years has first-hand experienced the advancement that this industry has brought his family--all of his children have been able to receive a quality education, which he says is the thing for which he is the most grateful. Beyond this economic development, Silvestre also enjoys the small, tangible moments that his decades of experience as a coffee farmer provide. “I like dedicating myself to my work--leaving my house before dawn at 4:00 am, listening to the birds in the countryside and then enjoying the sunrise from my fields.”
Within the community of San Miguel Escobar is a rising generation of young, educated (male and female) coffee farmers who, because of the drive of the coffee farming generations before them, are able to imagine an even more inclusive, just coffee industry. Estela, who is part of this younger generation, dreams of opening her own coffee shop in her community. “When you go to a conventional coffee shop, it’s not full circle, because for that coffee to reach the coffee shop, there are always intermediaries in the process,” She explains. “[We] want to open our own coffee shop...to be one of the few coffee growers in Guatemala not only to have an excellent coffee plantation, but also to be entrepreneurs in the local industry for serving the better cups of this product, and what better way than in our own coffee shop.”
What propels both Silvestre’s accomplishments and Estela’s goals for the future are coffee drinkers like you who have chosen to participate in a more inclusive coffee industry where farmers are fairly compensated for their labor, expertise, and the quality of their product. The extended DLG family of conscientious consumers has undoubtedly played a role in strengthening DLG coffee growing communities and cultivating a connection among us all. “I am grateful for coffee [because] it links us to the rest of the world,” explains Estela. “Thanks to this, we know that the world is not as big as it seems, but even amid its vastness, it unites us. And, that is the most important thing.”
On behalf of Silvestre, Estela, and the DLG community in Guatemala, we give thanks to our extended De La Gente family who has been pivotal in our success and growth. We invite you to continue doing so by purchasing the coffee that these small-scale producers have perfected over the years.
