The slaughter in Santiago
On a recent visit to Santiago Atitlán, I strapped my baby boy to my back and we walked along the main road leading out of town in the direction of Panabaj. Along the way, I pulled a few cherries from...
View ArticleLas Abejas of Acteal
Less than a week after I visited the site of the Santiago massacre in Guatemala, I found myself in the bed of a pickup truck, rolling out of San Cristobal through some stunning Chiapas landscapes...
View ArticleViolence in the coffeelands today
I have devoted the last two posts to reflections on massacres in the coffeelands that happened more than a decade ago in the context of armed revolution, one in Guatemala and the other in Mexico. Why?...
View ArticleNew beginnings – Guatemala
Last week I suggested that the violence hasn’t stopped in many parts of the coffeelands even though the revolution has. Navigating that violence that is an awful thing for coffee farmers and their...
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New beginnings – Mexico
Last week I suggested that there are two reasons why I have been reflecting here on acts of violence that happened in the coffeelands more than a decade ago. The first is that brutal violence in the...
View ArticleCoffee theft increases with high prices
Stories are swirling this year about one of the unforunate side effects of high prices — coffee is being stolen. And it is not just coffee that is getting lost at origin — lives are being lost, too....
View ArticleAdios, Guatemala
In a few hours I will be boarding a flight for the United States and leaving Guatemala for good after living and working here for nearly four years. Two nights ago I had dinner and a great discussion...
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Making room at the inn in the coffeelands
For me, leaving my office and driving to the coffeelands is usually cause for great joy and reverence. I recently returned from a visit to the coffeelands in Colombia that was short on joy and long on...
View ArticleA light goes out in Guatemala
A light that burned brightly for nearly 50 years on the shores of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala has gone dark: Fr. Greg Schaffer of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, died last week. During nearly a...
View ArticleSizing up Nariño for the FT4All pilot
On Tuesday, I announced here our involvement in an FT4All innovation pilot with independent smallholder farmers in Nariño, Colombia. Yesterday, I explained here how our involvement came to pass....
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