Coffee Brings New Energy to Communities in Central Honduras

Coffee growers in the mountains of central Honduras are finding new hope and opportunity through a project involving several Christian Reformed Church congregations in Canada and the CRC in Honduras.

From a single pound of coffee that Claudio Salinas of the remote village of El Carrizal gave some visiting volunteers six years ago, the project has grown to the 17,100 lbs. shipped this year.

Salinas, a coffee grower and an elder in the CRC of El Carrizal, gave the coffee to visitors from Carpenteros and Friends, a group of mostly CRC volunteers from the Hamilton, Ontario area.

The group had long been serving the communities of Olancho department (province) in east-central Honduras, assessing needs and finding ways to help through World Renew and its Honduran partners.

It was on one of these trips that “they saw a community that produced a lot of coffee, but at the end of their harvest, obtained few profits, due to the low prices the buyers gave them,” says Arturo Colindres, coordinator of Community Transformation Programs for the CRC diaconal ministry, Diaconia Nacional de Honduras (DNH).

Five growers were involved in the first year, shipping 5,000 lbs. of coffee to Canada in a direct-trade agreement with the Carpenteros and Friends.

Since then, the program has expanded to involve approximately 50 growers in nine communities in Olancho. “Every year we have more producers involved in this project; the price you pay is great for them….Something that strikes most people in this project is the support that is given to the producer: visits to their communities, the training provided to them to improve production quality,” says Colindres.

Growers receive training in sustainable environmental practices to improve the production and quality of the coffee. The coffee is shade grown, using organic fertilizer and natural insect control methods, protecting habitat for tropical and migratory birds and other wildlife.

Because it is a direct trade partnership with no middlemen, growers are paid a premium for the coffee, allowing them to pay fair wages to their workers. Producers agree to abide by these principles, and the coffee is “Certified Ethical” by Diaconia Nacional.

To maintain the highest quality in their coffee, the growers follow a careful process, choosing the beans with the best colour and ripeness, washing them, then drying them in a solar dryer to about 12 percent moisture.

At that point, a small sample is taken and ‘cupped’ at a laboratory – tested for quality, flavour, aroma, texture, fragrance, and uniformity. Coffee that does not receive at least an 82 percent score is not taken for export.

Much of Rio Olancho’s coffee is graded at 86 percent or higher, and the growers involved with the project have been commended by the Honduran Coffee Institute for their hard work and commitment to quality.

After the first stage of testing, DNH workers drive to the farms of the coffee growers who have partnered with them to pick up the coffee. Some of the communities are so remote, says Colindres, it takes four hours by car plus two hours on foot or horse to reach them.

In these communities especially, the enthusiasm and interest in the project grows each year. “They see it as a great blessing that God sent his community through this project,” said Colindres.

Once it has been gathered and again tested for quality, the coffee is shipped by boat to Toronto, Ontario.  After again being tested, then roasted and packaged, the Rio Olancho Direct Trade coffee is sold through the Carpenteros’ network to individuals, businesses and nine CRC congregations in Southern Ontario. 

It is also shipped in bulk to others who are actively engaged in short-term missions and community development in Honduras – New Westminster CRC (Burnaby, B.C.); Inglewood (Alberta) CRC; New Life CRC in Abbotsford, B.C., and to pastor Rick Abma, who sells the coffee to support his community outreach ministry in Alberta.

For those involved with the project, says Colindres, “with every pound of coffee that they buy, it’s more than taking a good coffee; they are changing the lives of many families.

“This project means hope, a unique opportunity…to be able to sell and market their coffee in a fair manner…It means more income for their family, health, education.”

Ultimately, the project is about much more than coffee, he said. “No doubt this is a great project and a great future, and it is changing many families – but this would not be possible without the divine providence of our God…To God be the honour and the glory.”