Julio

One afternoon in 2005 Julio shared his hopes with us of helping his family and community grow stronger through their work as farmers.  While Julio is only beginning to grow coffee on his small half-acre piece of land, his heart is in seeing his entire community benefit from producing high quality La Armonia Hermosa coffee. 

As the next generation of farmers, Julio and his peers find themselves hanging in the balance of old promises and new opportunities.  The region is still reeling from the coffee crisis of the late nineties which drove hundreds of thousands of his peers off their land and into the large cities or illegally into the US.  Many have ripped out the coffee trees and the larger shade trees, which are essential to prevent soil erosion and wildlife denigration on the steep hillsides, in order to plant less sustainable crops.

Julio sees beyond the bleak history and current lack of hope.  He hold the vision for how the coffee farmers of Santa Maria can realize greater economic stability by developing direct partnerships with concerned buyers in the US, and increasing their quality.  He has led the charge which has now gathered 20 farmers who see a similar hope in the future.