Dear Friends,
2023 has been a challenging year for coffee farmers in Guatemala. San Gaspar Chajul, where The Coffee Trust has worked for 15 years, is no exception. Despite the challenges faced by coffee farmers in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala, your continuous support has made a significant impact. Climate change, labor shortages, and economic difficulties have tested their resilience, but they persevere.
Coffee farmers and their families never give up. Through their faith in the future, we have learned to have faith in the future. Through their resilience, we have learned to be resilient. Your contributions have given us the means to use everything we have learned to collaborate with coffee farmers in San Gaspar Chajul for the last 15 years. You have been with us all the way. Here is what your contribution went to this past year:
Supported economic development in San Juan la Laguna by helping Visión Guatemala implement a sustainable Women’s Microcredit Program there.
Supported Visión Guatemala’s organizational development by focusing on policies and procedures, roles and responsibilities and leadership training.
Provided thousands of new coffee plants for Asociaición Chajulense to replace old ones that were unable to handle climate change’s resulting pathogens and increasing agricultural demands.
Supported middle and high school education in San Gaspar Chajul.
Provided university scholarships to indigenous students.
Provided efficient beehives for beekeepers to increase honey production and family income.
Provided financial management training for the Chajulense Women’s Microcredit Program.
With coffee farmers and their families getting up every day to face their incredible challenges, and meeting these hurdles head-on with your support, we hold a strong responsibility to maintain the quality of our work. We do this in honor of the coffee-farming families we partner with and to pay homage to our supporters who believe in us and allow us the privilege of this work.
Under the circumstances of the day, if you want to plant hope, you’ve got to dig deep.
Thank you for being a vital part of this journey,
Bill Fishbein, Founder & Executive Director
The Coffee Trust