Monday June 17 we started with a 6 AM breakfast at Alfredito’s. Then we bussed to the community of La Garnacha where we worked as locals for the morning. We split into three teams: Team 1 started pulling weeds, Team 2 sifted through soil, and Team 3 brought soil to coffee trees. Personally, pulling the weeds was the easiest job; sifting through the soil seemed a little dangerous because there were rocks and other sharp objects in the soil; bringing soil to the coffee trees was the hardest because of the walking distance. It was surprising that the community of La Garnacha only harvests coffee beans four times a year, but because they have such a large quantity of trees and soil, the job takes a while to finish. The work is laborious but it is also rewarding. Around 12 noon we bussed back to EstelĂ, and after lunch and resting time we had a Global Business Seminar. We learned that small businesses are more undermined by those in power such as large corporations. This might be because that the farmers are not aware that they are selling at a lower price, or it could be because they are not educated about the industry. After the Global Business Seminar, we prepped for our English class. This being our second week working with the English Classes gave us more experience and we finished quickly. After dinner we concluded with a nightly meeting that recapped our day. Personally I think that small farmers might be in a bad position where they don’t have the resources and the want to become educated about the industry. Therefore, they are stuck selling their products for a lower value :c Hopefully someday they will know the true value of their hard work. Being leader of the day today was difficult in learning about this circle that the farmers unknowingly endure. However, being a leader was also easy with the fact that everyone is becoming closer and more aware of how others live. I hope that we all take this experience and do something that can also help other farmers in this situation.
2023 Trips
- JA1A-BAY: Jarabacoa 6-2-2023
- RB1A-BAY: Riobamba 6-5-2023
- T1A-BAY: Turrialba 6-6-2023
- JA2A-BAY: Jarabacoa 6-7-2023
- C1A-CHI: Constanza 6-9-2023
- RB2A-CHI: Riobamba 6-12-2023
- T2A-BAY: Turrialba 6-12-2023
- RB3A-BAY: Riobamba 6-15-2023
- O1A-CHI: Orosi 6-16-2023
- JA1B-BAY: Jarabacoa 6-20-2023
- RB1B-LA: Riobamba 6-23-2023
- T1B-BAY: Turrialba 6-26-2023
- JA2B-CHI: Jarabacoa 6-26-2023
- C1B-WM: Constanza 6-28-2023
- RB2B-BAY: Riobamba 6-30-2023
- O1B2-NYC: Orosi 6-30-2023
- RB3B-NYC: Riobamba 7-6-2023
- T2B2-BAY: Turrialba 7-7-2023
- JA1C-BAY: Jarabacoa 7-10-2023
- RB1C-CHI: Riobamba 7-12-2023
- T1C-LA: Turrialba 7-14-2023
- JA2C-BAY: Jarabacoa 7-14-2023
- C1C-BAY: Constanza 7-17-2023
- RB2C-BAY: Riobamba 7-19-2023
- T2C-CHI: Turrialba 7-20-2023
- RB3C-NYC: Riobamba 7-25-2023
- T1D2-WM: Turrialba 7-26-2023
- JA1D-LA: Jarabacoa 7-28-2023
- RB1D-BAY: Riobamba 7-31-2023
- T2D2-BAY: Turrialba 8-1-2023
- JA2D-NYC: Jarabacoa 8-2-2023
- C1D-CHI: Constanza 8-4-2023
- RB2D-WM: Riobamba 8-7-2023
- T1E1-NYC: Turrialba 8-10-2023
- JA1E-NYC: Jarabacoa 8-10-2023
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