Coffee In Guatemal A Case Study
Globalization has had a profound impact on numerous fields of business throughout the world. The coffee industry is one that has felt the impact of globalization, both directly and indirectly. Mayan lands became large estates upon which the indigenous people were forced to work. Coffee in Guatemala is more than a beverage, it is the county 's number one export. Farmers grow coffee because it is a way of living, surviving and because it is what their ancestors have left them. Growing coffee is a long painful job that allows most farmers to reap the benefits of their harvests. When we buy a cup of fair trade coffee, we help a farmer in a far off country earn a living. But life is still hard for those farmers and their families, and the fair
trade market is more complicated than putting a few extra cents in their pockets. In order for fair trade to achieve its goals, everyone involved from the farmers to the consumers must understand how it works. The harvest of coffee depends on a massive seasonal influx of indigenous migrant workers who travel from their highland villages to the coffee growing regions on the coastal slopes. They do this to supplement the meager income generated by their small subsistence plots near their villages. Seasonal, and often weekly or daily contract laborers, instead of permanent employees, represent significant savings for growers by not demanding year round wages and benefits. In general, a season’s work harvesting coffee by a family will generate only enough income to purchase 1/3 of their minimum food requirements for a year.
References
Richley H. Crapo, Cultural Anthropology, 2013
Guatemala: The Human Price of Coffee
trade market is more complicated than putting a few extra cents in their pockets. In order for fair trade to achieve its goals, everyone involved from the farmers to the consumers must understand how it works. The harvest of coffee depends on a massive seasonal influx of indigenous migrant workers who travel from their highland villages to the coffee growing regions on the coastal slopes. They do this to supplement the meager income generated by their small subsistence plots near their villages. Seasonal, and often weekly or daily contract laborers, instead of permanent employees, represent significant savings for growers by not demanding year round wages and benefits. In general, a season’s work harvesting coffee by a family will generate only enough income to purchase 1/3 of their minimum food requirements for a year.
References
Richley H. Crapo, Cultural Anthropology, 2013
Guatemala: The Human Price of Coffee