Maya Ixil Slide Show 04082010

Earth Friendly Coffee Co. : 

Earth Friendly Coffee Co. Since Day One, Earth Friendly has focused its goals way beyond providing a ‘Fair Trade’ for a raw commodity.   Our dream has been to enable the indigenous farmers with whom we work—to break free of the economic, political and historic bondage—which has enslaved them—and  to become ‘their own man’.   We’ve been committed to creating a direct relationship between the Mayan descendents, who cultivate our extraordinary coffee—and the national U.S. customer base that Earth Friendly has developed for their superb product.

Maya Ixil Community : 

Maya Ixil Community Here is a young Maya Ixil woman standing the front of her home. You can see that she lives in the midst of the rain forest. Often families must live in the same building with their farm animals.

Slide 3: 

Fellow travelers headed down the same road with us. Animals and people share the roads and living spaces. Paved roads like this one only exist near a town, far from the coffee growing areas.

Slide 4: 

This little guy created his own ‘picture frame’. He loved the opportunity to ham it up and we were able to catch one of his smiles.

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Along this old primitive stairway, the farmers carry their bags of coffee. These bags frequently weigh more than the man himself. There is no sense of self pity-just bending to the task at hand.

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Diane, Founder of Earth Friendly Coffee, stands with Jose the plant manager of the Cooperativa, proudly showing off the processing plant. This building is where they want their own coffee roaster to be installed. It is our goal to help them realize this dream.

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Historically, these Mayan descendents have had to export their superb harvest as a raw commodity. They have never been ’allowed’ to roast and export their coffee as a finished product. Our mission: “Earth Friendly has been working with international rural development nonprofits to secure a commercial grade roasting facility for the Maya Ixil farmer cooperativa.  This will enable these indigenous to process their extraordinary coffee from seed to cup. They will be able to export this finished, value added product to customers like yourself. Having this roasting capacity and the supervision and training (that we are working to gain for them) will enable these farmers to remain with their families, on their tiny farms, providing health opportunities and education for their young, allowing them to maintain their artistic indigenous culture—whilst stewarding the rainforest. This will be an international first for the indigenous of Guatemala. And, it provides them with the opportunity to earn literally 50% more of the specialty coffee dollar. They do not have to abandon their families, their culture, they can choose their own destiny.

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Inside the processing building. This modern separation equipment is the first step toward their own roasting facility.

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Harvested coffee ready for shipment.

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Diane pictured with the indigenous at the market.

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The Rainforest in Action

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In closing, the Maya Ixil would like you to know that all of their coffee is cultivated in volcanic soil.  And, their coffee is grown at the highest altitude.  The higher the altitude, the slower the bean matures, the slower the bean matures, the more mellow the flavor, the more mellow the cup—the kinder it is to your tummy.  Folks drink Maya Ixil coffee from morning to night without ever getting an acid tummy.  But you probably have already noticed that—you just did not know why!

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We hope that you’ll feel a special commitment to helping us , help them maintain their beautiful culture—and our Rainforest.   Thank you, The Earth Friendly Coffee Company www.earthfriendlycoffee.com