San Lucas

Miracles Do Happen

THE STORY OF JUAN ANA COFFEE

by Ellen Vancura

Better than Starbucks in Our Own Back Yard.

"The New Ulm Diocese is likely the only Catholic Diocese that imports its very own brand of gourmet specialty coffee.''

We as Catholics often struggle with how to bring the lessons of faith and social justice from the table of the Eucharist into our homes, parishes and the workplace. We do this by how we spend our time, talent and treasure. In the treasure category, the easiest and most familiar method is to directly donate to the parish or special needs collections or favorite charity. Another method that is not as common and easily overlooked is the choice we make in something as mundane as the purchase of our daily cup of coffee. By the type of coffee we drink we can support poverty, child labor, and the degradation of the environment on one hand OR we can support the ability to make a living wage, human dignity, and preservation of the global environment through sustainable agriculture.

The story of coffee growing in Central America is not a pretty one. Since the time of the Spanish colonial conquest of Latin America , 98% of the land has been in the hands of 2% of the population. Conquest of the land also meant the conquest of the indigenous peoples. They became the indentured workers on what used to be their land.

Typically, the life style of the coffee pickers and their families is a cycle of poverty and debt for which there is no way out. They live and die on the same plantations, living in squalid conditions with no hope of improving their lot. There is substandard housing with no running water or electricity. Schools are poor if they exist. Children often do not attend school because the family needs them to be working in the fields. The picker is paid $2-$3 a day on a quota system. If the quota is not met, then he is paid nothing. To ensure that the quota is met, children are recruited to help instead of going to school. Only 13% of coffee workers complete their education. Food and basic necessities are available at the company store. Debt is therefore accrued to the landowner and wages are withheld. The average coffee picker earns between $500-$1,000 dollars a year. Medical care is either non existent or nearly inaccessible and of poor quality.

Beyond the great coffee plantations there are thousands of small coffee farmers who own their land. Their lot has not been much better. Traditionally, the only way to get their product to market is to sell to middlemen called "coyotes" who pay below the market price. When the world coffee prices go up, the coyotes reap even more profits. In the last years, the situation has gotten much worse due to the world glut of coffee and the subsequent reduction in coffee prices. The price offered to farmers by the large brokers is currently less than the cost of production. At the same time, coffee companies have not lowered their prices. The obvious consequences of this are the loss of land, loss of means to be self supporting, the move to big cities, and the struggle to do anything to survive such as turning to drugs.

Coffee plays a huge roll in the US economy. Coffee is the second largest traded commodity on the world market, second only to petroleum. It is the US 's largest food import. We consume 1/5 of the entire world's coffee, importing 2.72 billion pounds a year, produced largely by indentured workers. The major players are the familiar names of Philip Morris (Maxwell House), Proctor & Gamble (Folgers and Millstone) and Nestle Company. Along with the traditional supermarket coffee has come the specialty coffee market with big names like Starbuck.

Coffee growing has tremendous environmental implications. Coffee has traditionally been an understory crop, grown in the shade of larger trees that provide all the benefits to humans, wildlife, and the environment that we are familiar with. In the early 1980's, the US Agency for International Development gave $80 million dollars to Central American plantation owners to switch from the sustainable shade grown method to "sun grown" coffee. This increased production but at a great price. Gone are the shade trees that provide habitat for birds and wildlife, prevent erosion, while providing food (nuts and bananas) for the people and biodiversity for the environment. The small farmers are too poor to buy fertilizers and pesticides; they love and respect the land they live on and therefore continue agricultural practices that will sustain themselves and the land for generations to come.

Enter Father Greg Schaffer of the Diocese of New Ulm . His vision for human development in San Lucas Toliman first and foremost is to provide land for the landless. He realized that the world wide system of coffee production kept the worker hungry and impoverished, promoted child labor, destroyed the land, and put all the profits in the hands of the rich. A system had to be put into place to insure a just price for the coffee since free trade does not mean fair trade.

In the early 1990's , Father Greg facilitated the organization of a farming cooperative of around 500 families named Asociacion Cristiana Para el Desarrollo de San Lucas Toliman y area ( Christian Association for the Development of San Lucas Toliman and Area). The farmers chose "Juan Ana" as the trade name for the coffee. The name 'Juan Ana' came from the name of the little farm on which the original small coffee processing plant was located. Since Father Greg had used the inheritance from his parents to buy this farm, the people felt it was appropriate to name the farm and the coffee after them, John and Ann Schaffer.

The New Ulm Diocese is likely the only Catholic Diocese that imports its very own brand of gourmet specialty coffee. How does a bag of coffee from the highlands of Guatemala get to the desk of a New York executive or a church gathering in Minnesota ? The Juan Ana cooperative is not owned or run by San Lucas Mission but the mission provides the trucks and some technical assistance to take the coffee from the farmers for transport to Guatemala City where it is shipped by air freight for about a $1.00 a bag. The responsibility to get the coffee from Guatemala City through all the international regulations takes a professional commodity broker. San Lucas cooperative is well served by D & H International Commodities located in Bloomington . Once the boxes containing 50 bags per box arrive in Minneapolis , a trucking firm brings the coffee to New Ulm .

Two very special people pick up the coffee from the trucking firm and take it to the Pastoral Center garage where it is stored until sent out or picked up. Ken and Kathy Huebert, who have been distributing the coffee on a voluntary basis, have been accepting and distributing the Juan Ana coffee since 1993. They unload the coffee, fill the orders, and mail them out.

Ken and Kathy Heubert

Orders come from all over the United States , especially the state of New York . There are parishes that sell it once a month after Mass. There are Catholic schools that use it for fund raisers. There are many individual orders. The popularity of whole bean vs. ground waxes and wanes with changing tastes. The new, darker roast has become very popular.

Here are a few suggestions to make it easier to combine social justice with a great cup of coffee:

•  Drink Juan Ana coffee at home.

•  Strive to use Juan Ana coffee as much as possible at church functions and meetings.

•  Ask a local retailer in your town if they would be willing to sell Juan Ana coffee in their store.

•  If you like stronger or weaker coffee, combine Juan Ana with your favorite brand to make a custom mix. After all, that is what Starbucks does!

•  If you don't have Juan Ana available or are buying a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, choose Fair Trade coffee and chocolate whenever possible.

•  Become familiar with the nine points of Catholic social justice teaching, particularly the Preferential Option for the Poor.

Father Greg has worked for over forty years with the grace of God to make the miracle of San Lucas Parish happen. Let us all pray for the continued support of our diocese to the people of San Lucas.

Minnesota Sources for Juan Ana Coffee