La Voz, on the shore of lake Atitlan, feels a world apart from the colonial-style finca of Pastores near Antigua. La Voz is a Fair Trade cooperative. It’s owned by its members, and their pride is very much evident.
The people of La Voz had a hard time of it in the face of the coffee price crisis. Their prospects were dim, and their child mortality rate was alarming, primarily from malnutrition.
Fair Trade prices have allowed the cooperative to invest in themselves… in education, nutrition, organic certification, and better processing facilities to improve the quality of their coffee. As a direct result, La Voz now receives not only the price stabilization of Fair Trade, but double premiums from organic certification and cup quality. Their children are happy, and healthy, and they have a joy for life that simply has to be experienced.
Don’t forget, the first image in the sequence is at the bottom of the page!
