Jesús Erazo, Finca La Joya

Of course he cooks for his family, but that's because he loves to cook. Aside from that, Jesús prefers to spend his days in the countryside.

As a young girl, she herded cows with her father. Together they roamed the fields and forests, day after day, searching for the freshest pasture and the cleanest water for their animals. A cheerful little girl, her strong and protective father, and a handful of happy cows. Jesus played with the cows, snuggled up with them when they lay down to rest, and milked them when they needed it.

She's certain that she also grew stronger and more protective as she got older, because that's the kind of behavior her father showed her and her cows. When she was a young mother of seven, she cared for them like a lioness cares for her cubs. Now, all seven children are grown and have started their own families, many years ago.

Jesús is now alone with her husband again. She is happy; happiness comes naturally to her, thankfully. But the house is quiet and dull without the children. That's why Jesús walks with such enthusiasm the short distance to her coffee plot every morning. During the harvest, of course, but also throughout the rest of the year. There's always plenty of work to do there. Jesús weeds with her machete, prunes the plants, uses the pulp from the previous harvest to fertilize the new crop, or tends to the corn and beans she grows next to her coffee farm for the family's consumption.