GUATEMALA FTO ARSENIO RUIZ HUEHUETENANGO COMAL ECOTACT

Coffee Background

Good supply chains deliver tasty coffee. This is certainly the case with a collection of micro-lots that just arrived courtesy of the Federación Comercializadora de Café Especial de Guatemala (FECCEG), an umbrella organization that helps producers with small farms gain access to the international market. Arsenio Ruiz López produced one of these lovely micro-lots on his 12-acre farm called La Loma near the village of Huixoc in the municipality of San Pedro Nécta. This is the first time Arsenio has seen his coffee featured as a micro-lot. He has worked up to this goal for the last seven years through his membership in La Asociación Civil Maya Alternativa (COMAL), an association of 231 producers. COMAL has focused attention on training producers on the best organic practices to manage their farms. Arsenio has put his training in action, using 2 pounds of organic fertilizer on each coffee tree and spraying his farm with biofertilizers 5 times a year. Arsenio has his own micro-mill to process harvested cherries. First, he floats the cherry in water to remove less dense and damaged beans. Then he depulps, ferments, washes and dries the coffee to 11 percent moisture. At this stage, FECCEG steps in to support Arsenio with transportation, warehousing and cupping analysis, and later provides the preparation for export. FECCEG has worked hard to ensure coffee traceability so that Arsenio receives more income for improved quality. Increased earnings from coffee sales help Arsenio strengthen his family’s livelihood.