Today I want to share a poem I wrote on my most recent trip to Guatemala, then I'll explain it in a little more detail.
Coffee farms and coffee trees
Cover up the coffee seeds
Plucked by hands that sweat and bleed
From wounds you cannot see
Those precious hands that filled your cup
Strive daily for just enough
But with a baby on their hip and pride in their hearts,
They hoist their baskets and pick with an art
They walk all day
Then they walk home
They filled your cup
To fill their plate
But sometimes its barely enough
And the water they drink still makes them sick
And the doctors cost too much
And this world doesn't make sense
But you have a habit,
To fill a cup
So they have a job,
That's still barely enough
So I only ask that you remember the ones,
The ones who work to fill your cup,
And don't take for granted the work it took,
And the lives that brought it to you,
Because,
They matter too.
Let's dissect this a bit...
Every day in different parts of the world, somebody is out there picking your coffee. Did you know that on average one tree of coffee cherries produces no more than 13 cups of coffee depending on how you prepare it. On average, someone from the US drinks 2 cups of coffee per day, although I would argue this number is climbing. Let's just say though, at 2 cups of coffee a day and roughly 30 days a month and at the most 13 cups per tree - you drink an average of 4.6 trees worth of coffee a month. That's 55 trees a year. Let that sink in. Now imagine, somebody out there picking each and every coffee bean you consume. Okay, great. Now imagine that most of these people who do the picking are women who have families they bring along with them to pick - so a mom and her kids. Kids who aren't in school and families who are making just enough to get by. Now also imagine how if they want clean water to drink, they have to go out and buy it - money they could have spent on more food or necessities for their kids. Also imagine how their kids go without medical care because they're constantly bouncing around different plantations, missed work means missed money, and doctors and medicine are too expensive to pay for.
How's your coffee tasting now?
I'm not asking you to change your coffee drinking habits. I for one love nothing more than a cup of coffee - or two or three if I'm being honest. What I am asking, is that you become aware of what it takes to get that cup of coffee. The work that went into it, from harvesting it, to plucking it, to processing it, to roasting it, to shipping it to somewhere you could buy it, to preparing it for your cup. I'm asking you to be aware and I'm asking you what you'll do with this awareness.
Tourists tour these farms everyday. Tourism is great, it gives locals the opportunity to educate people about their culture, the culture of coffee, and the history of the land. But they do so in a way that hides the fact that most of these people are still struggling for their basic necessities. The farms often provide housing and some meals, which is wonderful - but don't they deserve to also live in a world where they have clean water and access to doctors and medicine they can afford?
It's been a dream of mine for the last several years to use my passion for coffee and my passion for these people to bring healthcare and clean water to those working these farms. It's my hope that this year, 2023, together with Extra Mile Pediatrics and One Atta Time, we will be able to do just that. This project is still in planning, but if you want to find out more or how you can help, follow along here as I'll be writing updated posts.
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