At Montana Verde in San luis Planes they have an interesting machine that de-shells and seperates coffee beans by size, shape, ripeness etc. They were granted these machines by USaid, Care and several other organizations. Still, the essential part of the process is separating the 3 types of coffee, quality pure high grown large bean from the decent small bean round deformed bean, and finally the damaged plagued and otherwise not fit for exportation bean. These machines require actual labor throughout the process, so that it is a great source of employment. The beauty of seeing some 30 damaged coffee bean picking out ladies leave work shows how a maquilla in the village can be a great thing. Naturally, these machines cost much money, yet the benefits for the community are great.
The machine has 3 parts, the conveyer belt, the shacking spiked slanted table with three exits, and the de sheller letting the air push beans into different bags based on weight. These three processes maintain quality in every bag. The first process is taking off the shell, which involves untold rising and falling with some danger of damage to the beans. Still, the best part is how the shells and weight of bean instigate through floating in air longer or shorter, which bag the beans end up in at the end. The shacking table provides untold noise and costs much to run, yet the bad damaged beans roll off into the lowest part, with the heaviest end up above, and the middle sized decent beans in the middle bag. The last process is the visual human method of many women watching beans passing by on a conveyor belt. They pick out the bad seeds to throw them into the bags for local consumption. At the end the bag is much nicer with a logo, so it’s a direct export process and with real marketing.
The whole process probably adds some 2 days to the process, yet increases the returns for the producers greatly. This product has sold for 65 euros and regularly wins the cupping for excellence. Also the village is stunningly beautiful with jutting up mountain peaks, coffee permeating every aspect of life and the village. Naturally, this coop has had much more success than fcassa due to these machines, instead of the washing and depulping ones.
The main difference is that the depulping process seems best completed by the farmer without large scale machines, albeit the mechanical process is the best way to control the coffee’s quality. I find that farmers treat their coffee much better than paid laborers working on the large scale, reducing the danger of quality lapse. Meanwhile the machines separating the beans really limits the uncaring laborer effect, as the labor is mostly woman and tends to be less labor intensive and more quality. While machinery is essential for large operations, the choice of which part to mechanize and which part to put inside to coop does impact greatly on how the members and coffee develops.
The only problem with Montana verde is that its production is hardly profitable due to too little quantity, so that they seek other producers to buy and process their coffee for export. This will eventually lead to their expanding their production and sales to von hutte or grean mountain coffee, now. However, the danger is present that debt could hurt them or that their buying coffee is incapable of maintaining a flavor and quality of the area and members coffee.
What do you think of machinery’s use in coffee?
Would you like to know more of san luis planes?
What do you think about coops in Honduras?
It seems that every donation has its benefits and short fallings. Do you think it is better to process to depulping and washing in the coop or the quality control? Or should coops leave the exportation to large groups with better machinery?
Unfortunately, I lack many pictures of Montana verde, yet there are plenty online. I only have a couple of the village and mountain. I sadly consider this land too beautiful to take a picture of, rather coming and seeing is essential, because any picture looses the lands soul by making it flat plain and touristic snap shot. What do you think of photography and visits?
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