Dark Horse

The Federation Comercializadora de Café Especial de Guatemala (FECCEG) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 to help small coffee producers overcome the challenges of price fluctuations and risks in the international coffee market. The FECCEG has since brought together 15 small-scale farmer organizations, associations and cooperatives, involving 1,150 men and 350 women, dedicated to the organic production of speciality coffees, honey, panela and cocoa. These groups are distributed in the Highlands of Guatemala, in the departments of Chimaltenango, Huehuetenango, Quiché, Sololá, San Marcos and Quetzaltenango. This is a land known for its majestic mountains, dotted with volcanoes.

FECCEG encourages short-cycle crops and activities which provide income stability as well as food security for coffee-producing communities. Crops such as bananas, ginger, mushroom, fruit trees and medicinal plants are developed with technical support and market research. Livestock activities such as beekeeping, fish farming and goat herding complement the local economy and family nutrition.

350 female farmers received technical help with managing their organic coffee crops and 55 of them received support with managing individual and collective coffee nurseries. These women also participated in training and awareness processes on gender issues including equality, care economy and resource management. The sales of their specialist coffee crop have contributed to their financial autonomy, improving living conditions for their families, and allowing them to be part of decision-making in their communities.

Coffee is picked by hand, washed and dried on patios under the sun (often these patios are actually the roofs of houses perching on the slopes and hillsides). Further processing at the dry mill that is located in La Libertad takes place to prepare bags for shipping and export. The area has a selection of varieties that allow good crop diversity.

After picking, coffee is washed and pulped before drying for a day on the patios and then being moved to guardiolas for controlled drying. This is typically 40 hours at 45 degrees before being reduced to 30 degrees and finally 15 degrees until optimum moisture content is reached.