Letter from the Directors W
e’re sure you have heard it a
ous levels until 2022. Guatemala depends
The situation is complicat-
countless number of times,
on agriculture and tourism as its main job
ed, but as the rest of the
2020 has been described with
generators in the country, which means
world, we are seeing better
adjectives varying from challenging to un-
that a vast majority of the nation is being
times ahead. We will continue
precedented. The fact is that it was cer-
affected due to the repercussions of the
to work to improve smallholder
tainly different. We like to use a metaphor
pandemic and the lockdowns.
coffee farmer’s lives in Guatema-
we heard recently—”We are all in the same storm, but we are not on the same ship.” This certainly proves true for smallholder farmers in developing countries. The pandemic is an added complication to their already challenging situation of low commodity prices, consolidation in the coffee industry and climate change. Our mission is to pay farmers as much as possible for their coffee and services, which means that in order to sustain ourselves, we rely on other sources of income besides the coffee exports. As you may know, revenue from tourism and service learning trips accounts for the majority of our budget. Travel to Guatemala came to a complete stop in 2020, and we don’t see it returning to anywhere near the previ-
We are aware that it was a challenging year all across the globe. We are extremely thankful to our customers for their business and commitment to our organization. Regardless, coffee exports decreased during 2020 compared to the previous year and 2021 will be even lower. In order to compensate for the decrease in income for our producers, we have been very active in creating online courses and virtual experiences. Sales have slowly started to increase. Every time a course or
la and with your support, we will find ways to make it happen. We invite you to share information about our online experiences and virtual tours. As well, please visit our online store and buy some of our delicious coffee! With support from our customers and donors, along with our amazing staff and committed Board, we are confident we will return to normal and become an even stronger partner to our farming communities.
a virtual tour is sold, the farmers who par-
We hope you and your loved ones have
ticipated in creating that content receive a
a great 2021. We hope to see you again
royalty payment. We have also been very
soon!
active in promoting our online coffee sales and have seen a large increase.
Much thanks,
Julio Martínez
Interim Executive Director
Brandi Stewart-Wood Board Chair
