Maria is a second-generation coffee farmer from a Popti Mayan community in Concepcion Huista. After years of working as a labourer, she was excited to receive this land from her parents 15 years ago as an inheritance. For Maria, caring for the environment and monitoring coffee quality are keys to her farm's success. Maria trained with the region El Sendero cooperative to learn how to operate a manual pulping machine and the proper techniques for drying the coffee in the sun for six days—all part of her careful eye on production. El Sendero cooperative provides coffee producers support and information for farmers around Concepcion Huista. The cooperative was formed in 2016, and it has 196 coffee-producing members, of which 62 are women and 134 are men. The cooperative focuses on gender equality among coffee producers and primarily supports young coffee producers.
Maria is a second-generation coffee farmer from a Popti Mayan community in Concepcion Huista. After years of working as a labourer, she was excited to receive this land from her parents 15 years ago as an inheritance. For Maria, caring for the environment and monitoring coffee quality are keys to her farm's success. Maria trained with the region El Sendero cooperative to learn how to operate a manual pulping machine and the proper techniques for drying the coffee in the sun for six days—all part of her careful eye on production. El Sendero cooperative provides coffee producers support and information for farmers around Concepcion Huista. The cooperative was formed in 2016, and it has 196 coffee-producing members, of which 62 are women and 134 are men. The cooperative focuses on gender equality among coffee producers and primarily supports young coffee producers.