Chichupac (combined lot of 3 members)

Our coffee community Flor del Café is located in Chichupac, in Rabinal municipality of Baja Verapaz department.

Julian Alquejay, Miguel Chen and Jesus Morales decided to combine a coffee lot to participate and represent Chichupac group.

We began growing coffee in 1987. Before the Peace Agreements were signed, our main activity used to be limited to daily field management and a small coffee production for our own consumption. Our land has been inherited to the third generation of growers.

Coffee is not only grown for tradition. It is the product that most income generates to our members and thanks to coffee we are improving our lives.

Our main goal is to find a niche market that allows us to receive better prices. This will help us stop depending on middlemen.

Coffee has given us good rewards so far. We have been lucky enough to obtain profitable sales that have helped us pay the credit we used for building our wet mill. Our coffee has also been awarded with Cup of Excellence 2006 because of its quality and this year we obtained an organic certification with Mayacert.

Our main challenge is to have clean production techniques in our coffee plantation and wet mill in order to supply quality coffee for the specialty market. If we do this well, we believe the coffee prices will improve and sustainability will be achieved. That is why we are now aiming to receive a good price in the auction, because we would like to increase the production with the same quality. We would like to buy a vehicle to transport our coffee out of our community and of course improve the lives of our members as well.

The quality of our coffee is not just by coincidence. The altitude, microclimate and the varieties of coffee are perfectly combined to produce exemplary coffee. We have done our best effort in selecting the perfect cherries from the plantation and a strict process control in the wet mill.

Winning the Cup of Excellence 2008 award was the best way of recognizing these efforts. We celebrated with a Mayan blessing for the success of our work. We believe Cup of Excellence not only provides high prices, but also shows us different markets and motivates us to maintain quality.

Buying our coffee means acquiring quality. But it also means changing our lives and helping us improve to serve you better. That is why we would like to meet you personally. We invite you to Chichupac. Once you visit us, you will fall in love with the beautiful landscapes and the kind smiles of our people.

MICROCLIMATE CONDITIONS
Average temperature C: 20
Annual rainfall mm: 1800
Type of oil and predominant element: Loamy-Clay - Sand (Loamy: balance of clay, sand and limestone)
Relative humidity %: 85
Type of shade trees: Inga and native trees
Beginning of harvest: November End of harvest: April

FARM PROFILE
Mills in the farm: Wet mill
Drying method: Sun
Annual production (69 K): 560
Temporary Employees: 30
Permanent Employees: 26
Certifications or awards: 2 auction awards 2006-2008