Guatemala - Angelina Mendez (Washed)

Producer Information

Angelina is a first generation coffee producer who lives in Concepcion Huista with her two children. Her farm had humble beginnings; around 2012, a local project donated about 100 coffee seedlings to her. She had a small parcel of land that was not growing any crops, so she decided to plant the seedlings on that land. Over the years, microcredit loans enabled her to add coffee to her other parcels of land as well.

Coffee has benefitted Angelina and her family significantly. She tells us, “”As producers, we are trying to attain good prices for our coffee, so that we can continue investing in improvements to the farm.” Angelina is part of the cooperative El Sendero which provides coffee producers support and information around Concepcion Huista in Huehuetenango region. The cooperative was formed in 2016 and it has grown rapidly. It currently serves 659 members, of which 350 produce coffee. The cooperative now operates its own receiving warehouse in order to make it easier for its members to reach the market with their high quality coffees.

What does the future hold?

In Concepcion Huista, many producers mark the outer edges of their land with plants that are easily identifiable. Angelina uses the alizo plant, so she calls this farm El Alizo after the plant. The name of the farm, Q’jna, is a word in the Popti Mayan language that translates to “old house.” The name comes from an elderly couple who had lived nearby for a long time in their long-standing home. During Guatemala’s civil war back in the 1980s, soldiers defending these indigenous communities knew home as a place where they could go and find hospitality. The farm was named to commemorate the area named for this house.

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