Delia Solórzano and family, Finca El Zapote

Now I have nine children, five of whom work our land with me. Five grown and beautiful children, who affectionately call me their "queen of queens." And yes, I feel like the queen of our land; I am part of it and I couldn't live without our farm, without a cup of my own coffee every day. Or two. My mother taught me how to make it and I've never changed her recipe.

When I was little, my parents still grew coffee trees. They were enormous, sometimes up to 6 meters tall, but the whole farm was devastated by coffee rust, I think sometime in the 1960s. After that, we turned to cattle ranching, but we always kept some coffee for our own consumption, and since my children became adults, we've gradually gone back to it. I haven't regretted it for a single day, even though prices are so low now that we barely make any money despite working the land every day.

That's why, some time ago, we decided to join the cooperative, and now we feel stronger because we're part of a group and because we receive valuable technical assistance. At first, I thought the young agronomist wouldn't be able to teach me much, but now I'm grateful to him. He has guided us through the Fair Trade and Organic certification process, taught us how to manage water, how to work with the soil, and how to keep our land clean.

We are now ready to cultivate direct relationships with small, quality roasters worldwide. We are able to offer a variety of microlots and a steady supply of quality coffees.