Flora’s Story
What stands out about Soppexcca, the 650 member cooperative to which Las Hermanas belongs, is the women's dedication to quality control. The engine driving this quest for improvement is 200 young men and women (all children of cooperative members) who act as extension training officers, sharing knowledge with all Soppexcca members. They ensure that the knowledge needed for quality is carried forward. Their dedication and passion is grounded in a solid appreciation for the values of family, environment and cultural heritage.
As coffees are brought in to Soppexcca's central cupping lab - the only one of its kind in Jinotega - during harvest, farmers are taught the basics of "defect cupping" and sound processing. They learn to distinguish excellent preparation from commercial preparation, and how to identify a low quality coffee both visually and in the cup. These women taste their own coffees at least three times during harvest - at the start, peak, and end of the season - receiving feedback each time from the cooperative's expert cuppers and extension training officers. In doing so, they gain an understanding of how cultivation practices affect the cup, and challenge themselves to continue to improve their methods of coffee production, improve quality, and ultimately earn better prices.
By taking control into their own hands and caring for their coffee in such a meticulous way, they can also improve the quality of their lives. As a result of their efforts, they can send their children to school, build improved homes for themselves, gain access to better health care and education, and shape their own destinies.
If the success of this empowerment could be visually embodied in one person, it would have to be in Flora del Socorro Montenegro, whose farm, La Estrella. A mother of three and a three-time winner of Nicaragua's "Cup of Excellence" competition for best coffee, Flora owns four hectares of land, half of which she was only able to purchase through financing made available by Soppexcca. She lives in a large, new house she built from the sale of her coffee and is recognized by her community as a true leader and inspiration. Flora is the pride of Soppexcca yet remains humble and dedicated to mentoring newer members on what it takes to produce quality coffee, guiding them along the way with continuous educational support.
Flora has a contagious joie de vivre in her. During a visit from Shirin Moayyad, Peet's coffee buyer, they told jokes and laughed about things in a way that only two women could. When asked why keep a husband about if she is farming successfully on her own? Taken with laughter, Flora responded that husbands were still good for something, sweetly winking and nodding in the direction of her three lovely children.
Flora is a perfect example of the empowerment that a well-run and successful co-op can bring. For the women of Las Hermanas, the negativity of Nicaragua's past is gone, replaced with dignity, a sense of pride, and control over one's own destiny. Peet's purchases of Las Hermanas has enabled women like Flora to invest back into their communities, protect their way of life for their families and improve it for the future.
They key to all this, however, lies in one thing: the quality of the coffee that Las Hermanas consistently produces. In doing what it takes to produce a top cup, Las Hermanas continue to win our hearts and we hope yours.
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Shirin Moayyad, Peet's coffee buyer (r.), with Flora del Socorro Montenegro, a member of Las Hermanas and Soppexcca.
Flora del Socorro Montenegro's new home.
Flora's three children.
Shirin Moayyad (l.) enjoys a visit with the Sisters during the 2006 harvest.
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