Fátima’s Story
We thought we already knew the story behind the coffee, but what we learned during our visit with Fátima in 2005, was the very compelling account of how Las Hermanas was brought to life.
A Sister's Story
In 1998, Fátima Ismael, an agronomist by profession, was asked to manage a struggling co-op plagued by poor management and a growing debt of nearly one million dollars. Fátima set out to develop a business plan that would help the co-op run efficiently and immediately initiated systems for training, education and cupping evaluation. To pay off the co-op's debt, she also established a 30-year payment plan with creditors. As Fátima explained, "For me, it was about protecting the lives of the farmers first and foremost."
Coffee Quality For the Future
For Fátima, coffee cupping is critical to quality. As a result, Soppexcca invests heavily in technical support with on-going education and training for farmers, as well as stringent evaluation standards for all coffee produced.
This process was initiated with the installation of a cupping lab - the only one of its kind in Jinotega - where Fátima, along with her expert cuppers evaluate each producer's coffee for body, acidity and flavor. As Fátima explains, "By evaluating our coffees with buyers, like Doug, we also learn their likes and dislikes. This allows us to better understand and communicate with them. It also challenges us to continue to improve our methods of coffee production." As a result, a sample from every 5th bag of a producer's crop is cupped and evaluated, and a database is maintained to track all aspects of production, including the number of trees and cup quality.
Worth noting is that during the early years of Fátima's management, coffee produced by both men and women of Soppexcca was combined and then sold; over time, however, it became evident in the cupping lab that the women's coffee was more than worthy of standing alone. "Because I knew it was good, I wanted to promote the visibility of these women and inspire them to continue to produce quality coffee," said Fátima. In 2001, she made the decision to separate out the women's coffee and Las Hermanas was born.
Fruit of Their Labor
The success of these women is evident in several ways. Since 2001, Peet's purchases of Las Hermanas have empowered these women to invest back into their communities, protect their way of life and improve it for the future. Families have access to a community pharmacy and lower priced medicines subsidized by the co-op, education beyond the 3rd grade local norm, more schools and teachers, as well as community libraries to support child and adult literacy.
With respect to coffee, the women of Las Hermanas and Soppexcca continue to work together to improve the traditional areas of coffee cultivation and seek viable, organic solutions for production, as well as continue to facilitate the sale of Soppexcca and Las Hermanas coffee to a wider audience on the world market. As more women join Soppexcca, they are required to maintain standards necessary to produce quality coffee through continuous education and cupping.
The installation of the cupping lab, a solid business plan that incorporates on-going training and education, and an enormous amount of confidence, laid the foundation towards achieving these amazing results. Now in its sixth year under Fátima's stewardship, and in the midst of several years of historically low coffee prices, the co-op is 85% debt-free.
For Fátima, the key to this herculean effort and for the work yet to be done is, "To stay focused on what is in your heart."
Pride and Honor
These women have great pride in Soppexcca and in the future of their communities. The coffee they produce continues to be recognized annually at the prestigious "Cup of Excellence" competition in Jinotega, consistently edging out the coffee produced by some of the male members of the co-op. Fátima offered one possible explanation for this interesting fact: "By nature, women are connected to the earth. As nurturers, we give our coffee the same love and care we do our families."
As our visit with Fátima came to a close, her confidence and inspiring commitment left an indelible impression on us. Our special guest modeled for us how one person in collaboration with her sisters can help a larger group slowly recover from debt, while working to sustain quality in their way of life and in the coffee they produce.
Just before departing, we asked Fátima what she found most rewarding about her work. She replied, "It would have to be the social impact that my work has on the lives of farmers and their families." Pausing for a moment, she concluded, "There is always a beautiful part of life you can find in your work."
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Fátima Ismael is both the leader of the Hermanas group, and the manager of the co-op Soppexcca.
Doug Welsh, Peet’s coffee buyer, meets with Fátima and Eudocia Gómez Chavarria, a member of Las Hermanas.
The women of Las Hermanas are meticulous about coffee processing and pick and mill the coffee themselves – sharing techniques, labor and training within the group.
Through the sale of their coffee, the women of Las Hermanas have been able to build more schools, libraries and a centralized pharmacy for their communities.
Fátima with her sisters, working together to produce quality coffee for the future.
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