WATTS WORKS - A VISIT WITH THE CANALES FAMILY

Hola from O'Hare!

I'm just on my way now to Nicaragua to check in on the Las Brumas farmers and spend some time with the Canales family (of Los Delirious fame). Around 8 this evening I'll be meeting up with KC O'Keefe (our Latin American operative) and renting a truck to drive out to Esteli. The harvest is completely finished now, but there is still quite a bit of cupping and evaluation to be done. For the growers, it's a great time of the year...the extremely intensive 3 months of harvest time have passed, coffee is safely in the warehouses and ready to drink, and the cash is on the way! It's a time to celebrate the successful harvest and enjoy, as they say, the fruits of one's labor.

Budgeting for a year can be a real challenge as a coffee farmer. Many growers rely exclusively on coffee as their sole source of cash income, and it can be very hard to plan properly so as to have available funds throughout the year for both living and farm maintenance. Since coffee is an annual crop, there is only one harvest each year. Coffee is sold post-harvest, and that income must be handled carefully so that it can last until the next season.

One of the ways we can help is to assist in securing pre-financing for the upcoming crop so that the growers can feel sure that there is enough money to spend during the critical months when coffee quality must be preserved at all costs so the coffee can reach maximum value and bring good income.

I'll fill you in on the trip next week but in the meantime, please read about our newest coffee: Fazenda Pedra Preta… the third place winner from Brazil’s 2006 Cup of Excellence Competition.

Cheers,
Geoff