Our Response to Hurricanes Eta and Iota, and a Recap of Our Work in 2020
We have been working in the Western Highlands of Guatemala since 2008. The closest stop-off point along the way to our program work is the township of San Gaspar Chajul, which is located about seven hours northwest of Guatemala City in the rugged Cuchamatanes Mountains. San Gaspar Chajul is home to the offices and processing plant for Asociación Chajulense, the fair trade, organic coffee producer in the region and one of our long-term partners.
The central location of our program work is in the tiny village of Chel, located about two hours north of San Gaspar Chajul by four-wheel-drive. In Chel and beyond, we have supported and continue to support a number of organic agricultural projects for coffee producers, improved training for beekeepers, chicken projects, family gardens, and micro-credit projects, which continue to evolve. Our work extends beyond Chel to the numerous tiny villages stretching far and wide in every direction. Those numerous villages are situated anywhere from 1 to 5 hours beyond Chel. They are among the most remote villages in Guatemala, not all that far from the Mexican border.
Chel, like many of the other villages in the surrounding area, is situated in such a way that a river runs through it. Hurricane Eta knocked out the only bridge to Chel, and then heavy rains from Hurricane Iota completely destroyed the roads to and from, which have become impassable, even by four-wheel-drive. It no longer takes two hours to drive to Chel from Chajul; it takes two days to walk.
As a result, the village of Chel is isolated. Homes have been washed away. There is a shortage of food. The cell towers are down and there is no communication to Chel or beyond. The Coffee Trust is collaborating with Chajulense de Mujeres, the women’s group in the region, to deliver food and clothing by helicopter to the now isolated community (shown in the video above). The helicopter is tiny and so far, it has taken 26 trips to Chel with more to follow. The pilot is only charging for gasoline. All this is happening under the threat of Covid-19.
The Coffee Trust is not a relief organization. However, we have been working in Chel since 2014 and have a presence there. Right now, Chel is devastated and we are providing relief because we can. Once things begin to settle down—hopefully sometime in 2021—we will be collaborating with the local community to rebuild Chel and the remote villages beyond.
There’s no getting around it. This has been a strange year, a challenging year, a hard-to-survive-year for a lot of people and a lot of businesses on both sides of the border. It has not been easy for The Coffee Trust to find funds during these uncertain times. It has not been easy to help coffee producers overcome obstacles exacerbated by a worldwide pandemic, the shutdown of their businesses, and a lockdown of their country. In fact, it’s been challenging to even reach them any other way than by Zoom and that’s only when they have had a signal. And yet, you have made it possible.
You have made it possible for Roderico Galindo and Cecilia Lopez to complete their last year at Universidad Rural, where they will officially graduate in the spring of 2021.
You have made it possible for the extremely remote pueblo of Santa Clara to build a well and replace their only source of water, which had been contaminated.
You have made it possible for Chajulense families without income, who were previously forced to collect food in the forest due to the coronavirus, to make their own tortillas at home.
You have made it possible for our partners in Chel to gain access to corn, beans and basic grains, having been cut off from the outside world due to Hurricane Eta.
You have made it possible for Chajulense de Mujeres, the women’s savings and micro-credit group, to print and distribute pamphlets explaining Covid-19 to close to 3,000 participants, along with in-person (albeit socially distanced) Covid-19 prevention trainings.
You have made it possible for The Coffee Trust to embark on an agroforestry initiative with Chajulense coffee producers rooted in the principles of Campesino a Campesino and initially focused on soil enhancement and the defense against dangerous pathogens.
With your generosity during these most difficult times you have made all of this possible, and in the process, you have inspired us all, here at home and in the field.
Would you dig deep for us one more time before the year is out?
Wishing you a joyous and healthy holiday season. Thank you for everything.
Bill Fishbein
Founder & Executive Director
A view of Chel from one of our visits in 2017