José Trancito Romero, Farms Ojo de Agua y Fuente de Agua

Our two children are blind and my son is also mute.

Our daughter is highly intelligent and is attending university in the capital. It’s quite a challenge to study when blind and even more so in a country with scarce resources and amenities to cater to students with a disability. We are immensely proud of her achievements.

Our son faces different challenges; he didn’t learn well in school at all and now he helps my wife and me in and around the house. I think he will live with us forever, only God knows what will happen to him when we die.

Anyway, I’m a happy man, despite the obstacles that I face in life, just like anyone else has to face their obstacles of course. I was 20 years old when I started working in coffee and I am now 49 (in 2023). Coffee plays a dominant role in my life, and that of our whole family.

We own one hectare of land divided between two small plots. One has a large and deep, natural pool of water that has never been empty in my lifetime and the other one has a small source of water, which really is a blessing for us as we never have to fear for drought on our land.

While coffee is by far our most important crop, we also cultivate some tomatoes since 2021. We started doing that to diversify and because the price that we can fetch for our coffee is so volatile. Now, we go to the market in town every week when we have fresh tomatoes, which is a great addition to our income. And next to our house we also grow onions, garlic, slaw, cucumber and more tomato, all of those for our own consumption.

The proceeds of the coffee alone are not enough for a family of four, let alone now that our daughter lives so far away and needs our support to pay for her study. This is also why we started separating the best beans of our harvest to prepare micro-lots. It’s an additional source of income and, honestly, also a source of pride and pleasure. It’s so cool when one of our coffees is shown and sold in a shop somewhere on the other side of the world.

I don’t know what the future will bring us but I feel fortunate for having our own piece of land, in a quiet place in the mountains. We have a temperate climate, lots of freedom despite working hard, and there’s always enough food on the table when you grow your own crops!

Farm Facts

Two plots, 1 hectare combined at 1,200 meters.

Varietals: Obata and Lempira

Shadow: plantains, bananas, and local trees.

Certified Fair Trade, Organic, RFA