March 2012 Coffee News

-So Much Bad News
-Life Goes On
-Honduras Travel Plans?

A while back, there was a commentary on Public Radio expressing frustration that the media only covers bad news out of Africa. After an especially bad news month for Honduras, we know how they feel. We are torn between grief at tragic images from a country that seems to be falling apart and a feeling of defensiveness that this isn't the whole story about this beautiful country. Read our reflections below.

So Much Bad News
Where to begin? First there was the two-part Public Radio series on Honduras that highlighted police corruption, and a legacy of violence in the country. The series was in response to United Nations statistics showing Honduras had the highest murder rate in the world in 2011 and news that the Peace Corp, which has long had a big presence in the country, was pulling all their volunteers. (See an article from Honduras Weekly that quotes Minnesota native Gabe Sidman who spent two years as a volunteer in our family's community of Rio Negro).

Days later the world was horrified by scenes from the tragic fire at the prison in Comayagua. (Yes, this is the city where Guillermo's sisters and brother live. We drive by the prison on the way to their homes whenever we visit). And then if this wasn't enough suffering, a few days later, the huge market place in the Tegucigalpa colonia of Comayaguela (not to be confused with Comayagua) burned to the ground, eliminating the livelihoods of nearly 20,000 people.

Life Goes On
In the days that follow, news here in the north has gone mostly silent on Honduras as tragedies elsewhere take the stage. In Honduras, grief and outrage continue along with clean up and rebuilding. We don't have answers for the tough questions of who is to blame and what needs to be done to make it better. We just know that in the midst of it all, Guillermo's oldest sister continues to go to work every day as a dentist serving a small rural community, his other sister continues her job teaching economics at the University of Comayagua, the coffee harvest is still being brought in, and our family just celebrated the birth of the newest great-grandchild -- there are seven now, all of them boys. In other words, life goes on.

And not just for our family. We were reminded of the editorial about bad news in Honduras that we linked to a few months back ("Feed the Better Wolf"). It's worth re-reading. And from there found links to Project Honduras whose "aim is to present and exchange information on current and proposed grassroots projects to empower the people of Honduras." The conference program gives a long list of positive efforts, including a fun toy company called Tegu working out of the capital city whose mission and magnetic blocks are so fun we just had to share it.

Honduras Travel Plans??
In light of the latest news, we are giving careful thought to our plans to bring a group to the coffee farm in June of 2012. We still think there are wonderful things to see and experience there. At this point in time, the State Department has NOT given any advisory warnings against travel in Honduras other than information about crime in the country. Life on the coffee farm and where our family lives in Comayagua continues to be quiet. We personally feel comfortable traveling with our family. So, if there are people who want to travel with us to experience the rainforest and the coffee farm, we are still willing to take them.

Lynne Menturweck, who traveled with us in January of this year, ably described this opportunity to connect to places and people beyond the superficiality of the news. She kindly agreed to let us share her assessment of the experience:

"This was a wondrous trip that I know I would never have been able to experience on my own. I so appreciated your translating. My lack of language skills was my biggest frustration. Everything else was a grand adventure. I loved being outside, the family, the sense of being so far from cities and so close to the sky and water and mountains. I'm not sure what else to say. I was happy. The wonderful thing about travel is how it brings into focus the rest of the world and reminds me how related we are to even the most far away places. How the water on the mountain is so important to protect, and how it's the same water in our rivers and the clouds. And how the faces in the news reports are the faces of the people in the stores, and the streets, and the homes we visit. That is what I take away from trips and this was a trip that's indelibly burned into me."

Let us know if you are interested in having the same "grand adventure." Please contact us at coffee@vfamilycoffee.com for more details on dates and costs so we can schedule an informational meeting in the coming month. To proceed with planning, we will need a minimum of 5 confirmed travelers before April 15.