Maria Ramirez Vargas is a first-generation coffee producer in the town of Concepcion Huista in Huehuetenango region. During the harvest Maria makes sure only the ripest cherries are picked which means usually two or three passes in total on the farm. The cherries are depulped on the same day of the picking and left to ferment in the water for 36 hours. After the coffee is washed with clean water and dried on a patio in the sun for six days. Maria’s farm, T’Zun-Witz, is a local indigenous language called Popti and means “Birth of the Hill” or “Birth on the Hill”. “For us to be able to buy this farm my husband emigrated to the United States. Eventually with that money we could afford to buy it and since then we have been experiencing this coffee life together with my husband and children”, Maria explains. Maria is a member of a Cooperative El Sendero which provides support and education for its coffee producing members in the town of Concepcion Huista.

W H A T  D O E S  T H E  F U T U R E  H O L D ?

In the future Maria is interested of improving her agronomic practices and post-harvest processes.

THOUGHTS FROM THE PRODUCER

“Through the membership with the cooperative El Sendero we have been able to learn new things about the coffee production. Specially my children who are more open to learning, have been able to learn practises how to improve our quality. We strive as a family to produce quality coffee since we are producers from a small region and we think that through the quality of our coffee we also improve the quality of our lives”, tells Maria.