March 3, 2009
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Over the past few months we have made trips to six coffee growing communities in Mexico and Guatemala. The purpose of these trips, which were discussed in previous blog entries, were to strengthen our relationships with the communities that we buy from and better understand how we can come along side the communities to help them reach a better quality of life. Before we begin any projects in these communities we need understand the current state of the communities and what our goals and expectations are for any projects. Over the next few weeks I am going to take you through our process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects.
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Field Research – #1 Economics
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Prior to the field research a literature review was conducted to understand how others have done rural development work. Understanding what has and has not worked for others is a great way to focus efforts. A hypothesis was drawn from this review and greatly supported by the actual field research conducted. The hypothesis is that the well-being of the farmers and their families will increase if the community is empowered to direct development projects, have micro-loans and credit available, and the health and educational needs of their children are met.
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The field research was conducted at six communities in Guatemala and Mexico. The information collected through interviews, conversations, and observations was placed into a metrics chart for each community to identify common themes and concepts. The following paragraphs will summarize these themes and concepts within the three main areas of economics, health, and education.
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Economic - It became quite apparent that economic development was a very high priority. Through interviews and conversations, it is believed that economic and business development is the key to long term sustainability and self-reliance. Each farmer is a business owner and member of a cooperative which obviously has a focus on growth and sustainability. It is believed that if the business is growing and strong more resources will be generated that will ultimately lift the standard of living not only for the farmer and their family, but also for the community as a whole.
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Two major hurdles surfaced that are slowing the economic growth and plans of these communities; diversification and access to credit. It was stated over and over from the farmers, and the cooperative leadership, that coffee alone cannot generate enough resources. Each farmer simply cannot grow enough coffee and if they expand they must hire workers. The cost of the workers erases any profit gain. Diversification into other crops, markets, and /or products is required to increase the income of the farmer.
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The second hurdle is credit. Without access to credit it is nearly impossible to grow and diversify a business. Credit is a very important instrument that has the power to transform business, communities, and individuals. Most of the farmers do not own anything of real value that can be used for collateral, not to mention the extreme rural nature of these communities and how out of reach they are from lenders. Credit is an absolute necessity to diversity, expand, replenish crops, nurture plants, and ultimately reach a good level of self-sustainability.
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Next section will cover health.
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Kindly,
Sam Snyder – Program Director
Posted in: Trips to the Field | | Comments (3)
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[...] #2 Field Research – Health & Education This is the second entry on our process for how we work with communities in the field. I am taking you through this process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects. If you haven’t read the first entry please do so now at http://www.puravidacoffee.com/blog/?p=139. [...]
Pingback by Blog » #2 Field Research - Health & Education — March 6, 2009 @ 9:50 am
Are organizations like KIVA something that could be useful in these areas?
Comment by ckruschel — March 10, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
ckruschel, thank you for you question. Yes, KIVA or other organizations like them are a great possibility for getting credit into these rural communities. We are currently assessing the type of credit needed to determine if it will fit into the KIVA type model.
Thanks again for the question/suggestion, keep them coming, together we will find the best solutions.
Sam Snyder – Program Director
Comment by Sam — March 10, 2009 @ 2:21 pm