Adding to basket
Between the hills and fields of sugar cane and coffee you find the beautiful community that offers very pleasant landscapes every morning. The Christ statue is at the top of the hill, and the mountain peak of Orizaba and the sunrise are unequaled, as the day labourers head out to the fields with their supplies.
In this community there is a group called "Las Cafeteras" which is made up of five women, whose main occupation is selling coffee. They are: Amanda and Rosa who also sell clothing, Magdalena, who sells coffee, María, who sells groceries and Patricia who sells typical food.
Magdalena is known in the community as Magda and is married to José Luis, with whom she has 4 children who are economically dependant on their parents. Her husband is descendant from a family that produced coffee. His grandfather was the owner of a factory where the bean was put through a series of processes to obtain the final product, that is, delicious organic coffee that is free from chemicals.
Magda incorporated the coffee business into the marriage and 6 years ago they became independent and created their own brand. Today their farm consists of more than 2000 coffee trees, and they use the whole product, including the shell and leaves which are used in an organic fertilizer. The process to obtain the final product consists of drying the beans, toasting them carefully to get a good smell and taste, grinding them, packaging and sealing them and labelling them in bags of different sizes. "The secret of good coffee is serving it not too cold and not too hot" she pronounces with a big smile on her face while packaging the coffee.
The loans will be invested in buying bags and labels as well as a scale, a blender, and a sealer for the bags. The earnings will be used to cover the costs of their home, the education of their son and most importantly be reinvested in the coffee production. Her new goal is to buy a coffee husking machine, and coffee dryer and toaster. She comments: "Making coffee is fun, my customers always chose our product. Thank you to VF México for believing in us and giving us a new loan."
The picture was taken in María's cafe, Magda is the one wearing a stripped blouse and a beige skirt.
In this group: Rosa Imelda, Magdalena, Maria De La Luz, Patricia, Amada
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Catherine Dyck. View original language description.
