Peruvian musings

Just back from a week in Peru visiting with members of the Cenfrocafe cooperative. This was only my second-ish trip flying solo and there have been so many opportunities for growth and reflection.

I find that traveling, especially traveling for work, is like a magnified microcosm of the usually unnoticed extremes of every day living – there are ups and downs, there are long winding drives that provide you with (sometimes too much) time to think, and there are so many diverse human interactions.

Some days you are so nauseated you don’t want to leave the bed, others you want to eat every new thing in sight. Some days you think this really might not be the line of work for you at all, others you can’t stop finding things to celebrate about the job’s nuances. Some days you can’t stand to talk to another person, other days everyone is your best friend with a brilliant gem you can’t wait to hear about.

Here are some of the highlights from this past week’s trip in a stream of consciousness:

Connecting with producers – Often, after numerous hours on the road and in the air and assorted meetings over the course of 5 or so days, it is this hour, face to face with producers, that is what makes my heart expand, reminds me what it’s all about. This trip for the first time I got to see producers that had received quality premiums for their coffee taste their own coffees. The feeling was…incomparable, a way of connecting the dots – both for me and for them.

We also decided to hand out certificates of recognition this trip. The work of a coffee farmer is no easy task on so many levels and who doesn’t like to be honored by their business partner, someone who truly sees (if can’t fully understand) all that they are putting in on their end.

Farm visits are their own kind of magic. Walking up steeper than steep inclines with producers so they can show off their land always reminds me in the most tangible way possible the circumstances of coffee farming; It is both breathtakingly beautiful and a hard jagged steep climb and never-ending effort.

Cupping – This time I got to take an active role from start to finish tasting, selecting, and then separating green coffee bags in the warehouse that will be destined for the ports, our roaster, and ultimately our consumers. Not coming to the coffee industry with this experience or yearning for this kind of experience necessarily, I was surprised and excited by what a high it gave me!

Lingering questions (please sound off in the comments section if you have any thoughts or further questions to add to the fire on these topics!):

- “Traceability” I feel is starting to become a buzzword much like “sustainability” – What are some key indicators that can be documented that insure we understand what is being said when cooperatives say they are committed to traceability?

- Repeat success as a quality coffee producer – is this possible everywhere or only in certain areas and for certain producers? The refrain of “it’s a mystery” or “why can’t all of my coffee reach these quality levels” continued to echo on this visit.

- Cooperative structuring – Cenfrocafe is a rare bird, how can we identify and encourage or help build capacity of outstanding cooperatives elsewhere?

- Money, money, money – inroads are being made to examine the financial viability of smallholder coffee farming. Yet, we still don’t entirely know what the viability and impact of pricing is for farmer’s livelihoods across different countries and cooperative groups. How can I continue to be involved as an employee of a business and as an individual in asking these questions that are essential for social justice?

I’m grateful for the opportunity to have these experiences, ask these questions, and continue the work.