Back From Oaxaca, Mexico.....Coffee Kids, What A Great Organization....
This last Monday my plane landed at the PDX airport around 9 that evening. It's always good to be home, sleep in your own bed. There is just something about your very own pillow.
Oaxaca is a beautiful city, a real picture of old Mexico. The COFFEE KIDS team and I got up early the first morning got in a Ford van and went for a little drive. After 6 hours of serpentine roads with speed bumps every 1/4 mile we arrive in the little village of PUTLA. We check into our modest hotel, got a quick nap (about 30 minutes) and we're off again to our first little coffee village. We picked up Christino the man who is the go-to guy for the PUTLA area coffee co-op. He also helps COFFEE KIDS with direct village leadership. He is a humble man that helps the family groups in these remote villages with leadership also. We arrived after one hours worth of another serpentine speed bump experience.
THE FIRST VILLAGE....If you can picture a area(the state of Oaxaca)about 36,000 square miles with mountains 1/3 the size of Mt. Hood about 4-5 thousand feet high all jammed up next to one another. The coffee village is nestled on the side of one of these mountains. With a population of about 150 little people. Mostly women, children and older men make up the total population. Most of the young men have traveled "El Norte" - north for work, either in the USA or in northern Mexico. We drive on the dusty road up to a small two room brick house. There are about a dozen women and a bunch of little coffee kids waiting for our arrival. We are greeted with kindness, they are so happy to see us and anxious to tell us their progress with their micro-credits and how they have grown economically as a group. The micro credits are furnished by COFFEE KIDS along with a helping hand to develop economic development though entrepeneurism. These families have not only grown their micro credit, but have built up a little nest egg for a small health care fund. The ladies told us that these monies can't be touched, "it's there for emergencies" they said. These folks are bright and are so excited to think of new ways to work together and make more money for their families. Next on the list is starting and building a small herd of goats. Just think, milk, cheese and meat! This is a good thing! Because of the COFFEE KIDS organization this stuff is happening. It was so great to see and be apart of, it's making me think of coming up with new models to grow the COFFEE KIDS donor base.
I will write more about the coffee parcels(small 2-6 acre farms)and the next coffee village tomorrow.....Stay tuned...
The CoffeeMariner
Oaxaca is a beautiful city, a real picture of old Mexico. The COFFEE KIDS team and I got up early the first morning got in a Ford van and went for a little drive. After 6 hours of serpentine roads with speed bumps every 1/4 mile we arrive in the little village of PUTLA. We check into our modest hotel, got a quick nap (about 30 minutes) and we're off again to our first little coffee village. We picked up Christino the man who is the go-to guy for the PUTLA area coffee co-op. He also helps COFFEE KIDS with direct village leadership. He is a humble man that helps the family groups in these remote villages with leadership also. We arrived after one hours worth of another serpentine speed bump experience.
THE FIRST VILLAGE....If you can picture a area(the state of Oaxaca)about 36,000 square miles with mountains 1/3 the size of Mt. Hood about 4-5 thousand feet high all jammed up next to one another. The coffee village is nestled on the side of one of these mountains. With a population of about 150 little people. Mostly women, children and older men make up the total population. Most of the young men have traveled "El Norte" - north for work, either in the USA or in northern Mexico. We drive on the dusty road up to a small two room brick house. There are about a dozen women and a bunch of little coffee kids waiting for our arrival. We are greeted with kindness, they are so happy to see us and anxious to tell us their progress with their micro-credits and how they have grown economically as a group. The micro credits are furnished by COFFEE KIDS along with a helping hand to develop economic development though entrepeneurism. These families have not only grown their micro credit, but have built up a little nest egg for a small health care fund. The ladies told us that these monies can't be touched, "it's there for emergencies" they said. These folks are bright and are so excited to think of new ways to work together and make more money for their families. Next on the list is starting and building a small herd of goats. Just think, milk, cheese and meat! This is a good thing! Because of the COFFEE KIDS organization this stuff is happening. It was so great to see and be apart of, it's making me think of coming up with new models to grow the COFFEE KIDS donor base.
I will write more about the coffee parcels(small 2-6 acre farms)and the next coffee village tomorrow.....Stay tuned...
The CoffeeMariner
posted by Michael | 10:37 AM
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