Checking in on the harvest with Maya Vinic
Chiapas visiting Maya Vinic. In a quick few days we’ve worked on preparations for a water project in the highland community of Chichilton, trekked to the top of a mountain to speak to the municipality of Chenalho via the Las Abejas radio station Chanul Pom, and had a great meeting with representatives from the co-op to discuss a
plethora of topics about this year’s harvest. With Monika Firl from Cooperative Coffees in tow, President Jose Vasquez - an old friend who came to the U.S. with us on a speaking tour a couple years ago- sat down and also signed contracts for 4 containers.
We also discussed Higher Grounds social premium of $2,800 given to the co-op in recognition of the deep partnership we have with the co-op. Many visits to the co-op have continually reminded us that our success is intricately related to theirs. As such we are providing a yearly bonus of $.15 per pound above the beyond fair trade price for all coffee we purchase from the co-op. This year the co-op has decided to fix their 3 ton truck which will allow them to travel to the various growing communities that make up the community to collect coffee. By doing so they will be communicating more regularly with the members and eliminate a costly expense for producers – delivering coffee to the co-op.
Maya Vinic is quickly positioning itself to be a highly successful cooperative in an industry where most are struggling to get by. They have vertically integrated – processing all coffee at their warehouse. After picking, washing, fermenting, drying, and sorting their beans, Maya Vinic is roasting non- export coffee for their national market under their own brand. Their national brand coffee is distributed throughout Mexico thereby providing an income for the coffee that is not sold to international buyers, such as Higher Grounds.
For that reason, I finished my adventure in Chiapas by providing a roasting and cupping training at Maya Vinic roastery and offices. More to come soon on that when I blog about the 3 other trainings I just completed in Guatemala.