Guatemala - Huehuetenango: America y Alejandro

America Perez Ramirez and her father Alejandro Ramírez Méndez farm across four parcels spanning two municipalities in Huehuetenango, at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 1,900 masl. They grow caturra, bourbon and catimor varieties under chalum and grevillea shade trees, and they grow corn and beans for household use on the land as well. They return coffee pulp back into the soil, and use conventional fertilizers twice a year as well.

Alejandro comes from a coffee-farming family: his father spent over 20 years working as a laborer on farms in the Ixnul area before saving enough to buy his own first parcel. Alejandro began working in coffee as a teenager alongside his father, and roughly 15 years ago started buying his own land, clearing it from overgrown plants and planting it himself with caturra and bourbon- the varieties considered strongest at the time. Alejandro planted 4 cuerdas of pacamara on the Canoguitas parcel, based on the advice of a community leader who advised him that pacamara was well known for its cup quality, and they planted 1,000 additional caturra trees on remaining open space in the same parcel.

During harvest, Alejandro and America employ 10 to 12 workers. Coffee is their sole livelihood, and they attribute success in the work to hard labor and patience- Alejandro specifically says that any kind of agricultural work requires persistence and patience. Their biggest challenge is the aggressive growth of monte (brush) in the area, which requires clearing at least three times a year.

Alejandro specifically has worked with the Canoguitas producer group for four years. After two years of planning, the group recently finished building a shared storage warehouse built on Alejandro and America’s land, with Alejandro serving as its manager- he receives and sometimes collects lots, and keeps inventory. Looking ahead, he hopes to purchase an additional parcel in Canoguitas, where the higher altitude produces his best coffee.