Santa Anita

Holas Amigos. Yes it's been a little while. We have just been so busy lounging around in hammocks and enjoying the views of lakes and mountains. So, I present to you our trip to Santa Anita Coffee farm, located in Guatemala. This farm has a special connection with our homestate; it sells 90% of its beans to a coffee roaster in Madison called Just Coffee, which I might add, is quite good. And, of course, it's organic.

Santa Anita has a very unique story as to how the community became coffee growers. Rather than give you details which may not be entirely correct, I have included a few links that you should check out to hear their story. The second link also includes a documentary that was created with the help of members of the community. It is broken into six parts, and well worth the education that it provides.

http://www.santaanitafinca.com/pages/community.html

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2084/33/

Here is the La Casa Grande. This building at one time housed all 32 families in the community, but now serves as the base for their eco-tours. Hotel Santa Anita, perhaps. The farm is organized as a cooperative, consisting of 32 families. Each of these families received a plot of land equal in size through a lottery system, and each family is responsible for working their own plot.

As soon as we arrived, we threw down our bags and went on a tour of the farm. Here, the guide, Guillermo is equipped with his trusty machete and looks ready to challenge the cameraman. But really, he was a friendly, soft spoken coffee farmer.

These are the coffee berries on the plant. Once, dried, there are two beans inside each one. Santa Anita utilizes two types of coffee plants. One type is more durable and has a longer lifespan, while another grows quicker, and produces beans earlier in its lifetime. This helps them to diversify in the event that weather damages crops, so that they don't lose everything.

The majority of the land that the community purchased is relatively flat, but there is also land along the side of a mountain, which they also use for growing. Every family received a flat plot, as well as a mountainside plot. Though, obviously much more difficult to work the land, coffee still grows, so they utilize every bit. Here is a view of that mountainside.

We hiked down the mountain to a waterfall. The walk was extremely hot and humid, but it was well worth it. The spray from the waterfall was just what we needed to cool down a bit too.

After the hike, we rested for just a bit. But not for long, as there was another tour to be had.

We next were given some explanation to the main buildings that are in the central area of the community. This is another shot of the largest building, with a mural that tells the story of the community. Next to Laura, in front of the building, is coffee drying out in the sun.

This building has a poem written on it as well as the the letters URNG, which stands for the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. This is the guerrila group that the leaders of the community belonged to while they fought the Guatemalan army during the Guatemalan civil war.

The farm exports most of its beans to Wisconsin, however, they still sell locally. This is the symbol for the farm, which is printed on all packaging sold locally.

Here is the library, named for an inspirational revolutionary.

During the tours, Laura became the unofficial-official interpreter. Here she is helping Willy, the organizer of the eco-tour to talk about the schools that they have created. One of the main goals of the community is to be able to offer a free education to all of their children in the community through their coffee growing efforts. In the background, is one of the 2 schools on the grounds, as well as a playground, and a basketball court (which sometimes serves as a coffee drying surface). They also have a computer lab with internet access so that the children can learn and connect with the rest of the world.

Above is the coffee operation. This is a picture of a man spreading the coffee out to dry in the sun. For times when there is not much sun, they also have a dryer to get the job done.

Here, Willy is in front of a fermentation tank. The coffee is flooded with water in this tank, and it sits for about a day, I think. Then it is drained and dried.

This is a pile of pulp, which is made into a compost.

That was the extent of all of our tours. We also had the opportunity to sit down with some of the ex-guerrillas to hear their personal stories of how this community came to be. They went through a lot to get where they are today, and it was most definitely a humbling experience.

Before heading to bed, we were told that if we woke up at 6 am, we would get a view of a volcano eruption. Well, we were up bright and early, and this is what it looked like. It is a very slow process from so far away, but pretty neat anyhow. However, we did notice it erupt again during the day, at which point, we wondered if we truly did have to get up early to see it.

Here are a couple of the ninos from the community. They were hanging around the kitchen quite a bit, and Laura ended up giving the girl a beach ball to play with. They also noticed the camera I was walking around with and had me take a picture.

Then came my favorite part. I showed them the picture and the little girl asked me to take another one. She then proceeded to fix here hair, because, apparently, it was a mess the first time. This is the first shot. It was better.

After our retake, she wanted to take a picture of me.

And here we have a fine picture of me, laughing because I can see that she is covering the lens with her hand!