Jaime Urías, Finca Nicolás, Finca La Pasión and Finca Las Rosas

In the following harvest, my coffee was almost completely destroyed by rust, and I had to get up at five in the morning to salvage what I could. Often, I was so desperate that I fantasized about leaving everything behind and running away to the United States in search of a better life. But I felt unable to abandon my mother, and besides, I didn't even have enough money to take a bus to neighboring Guatemala.

So I had no choice but to fight for our farm and our future, here in the town of Santa Teresa, where I grew up and where I feel at home. Little by little, I learned to cultivate and process coffee better, and at the same time, I studied to become an agronomy technician, specializing in coffee plants. At school, I learned things about coffee cultivation that my father and grandparents had never taught me.

I now work as a technical coordinator for CAFESMO, but I continue to manage my farm with the same dedication as before, and with ever-increasing knowledge. My mother and sister are a great help. My sister and her husband also have a farm, but they often check on mine when I'm out in the field for CAFESMO.

In 2018, I produced my first microlot, which scored 85, but with each harvest I manage to get better results, and now I sell my coffees to roasters in Holland and Taiwan.