Today was a very busy day to say the least; we learned more about global business and what everyday life is like for agriculture workers. The day began with us Glimpsers going to Vivero de Cafe, a coffee greenhouse outside of Jarabacoa. Vivero de Cafe, which is a family-run greenhouse, only has a total of 4 employees (2 women and 2 men). Yet, it produces 75% of the coffee beans in Jarabacoa. We had the opportunity to learn from and work alongside farmworkers. In groups, we picked weeds, shoveled them, and dumped out empty plant holders. Doing this work and talking with the owner Miguel gave us many things to think about and learn about.

After this, we returned to the ranch for lunch, ate real good, and warmed up for the second part of the day, which was themed Global Business. We went to a coffee factory called Cafe Monte Alto. We got a tour of the factory and got to see how coffee was processed and packaged, which we all learned was a long and very precise process. We got to taste some coffee and some of us even bought some bags of coffee. So if you’re a coffee lover, hopefully, you can receive a bag.

Finally, we went back to the ranch for the last time to meet with Mr. Olmedo to present our community action project and discuss the plans for it, which went very well and prepared us for the work days ahead. We plan on building a water system that will run from a well to a central location in the community, which will make it easier for them to access water. Finally, we grubbed on some crack-a-lacking dinner and enjoyed the free time for the rest of the day.

We look forward to beginning our community project tomorrow and having the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the Jarabacoa community! We’re feeling extremely excited and prepared to begin our community action project tomorrow, and we expect to get lots of work done in just a 3 day period. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog!