Coffee Farming in Guatemala
-
These images were taken in the Guatemalan highlands at La Finca Pampa (The Pampa Farm) The farm was started by Luis Sanchez and still resides in the Sanchez name. The end photos also feature coffee farming at Nueve Aguas. It was incredible to witness the coffee harvest from start to finish. We hiked in the hills to view the coffee plants, and then watched workers carry over 100 lbs of harvest into the coffee mill to be processed. From start to finish, this product is truly a labor of the land- I'll never think of a cup of coffee the same way.
-
Coffee bean farm workers stand for a photo at La Finca Pampa (The Pampa Farm)
-
Workers bringing in the daily haul of beans, usually between 100-140 lbs. Note the way they carry the load- most of the force rests on a band strapped around their forehead.
-
Carlos, the manager of the farm poses for a portrait.
-
Workers dump the coffee beans into the first part of machinery after weighing the load.
-
-
A worker dumps coffee beans into the first step of the coffee process.
-
One of managers notes the weight of all the coffee beans for each worker.
-
A view from the hillside where the coffee plants grow.
-
Alvaro Sanchez, holding the coffee fruit on La Finca Pampa.
-
The coffee bean plant boasts a deep red colored berry when it is ready for harvest.
-
-
The workers coming in with their haul of the day.
-
The coffee beans sit waiting to be sifted.
-
Machinery begins to shed the outer layer of the coffee berry, leaving the coffee beans to be washed, dried and eventually roasted.
-
-
-
-
The beginnings of coffee plants at the neighboring farm of Nueve Aguas.
-
Coffee beans prior to roasting at the Nueve Aguas farm about 30 minutes away.