Eric Mitchell (RPCV from Costa Rica) taught Haitian farmers to appreciate the nuances of coffee flavor, a critical step in understanding how farming practices influence coffee quality.
Farmer to Farmer (F2F) volunteer Eric Dane Mitchell Talks Haitian Coffee
How do you take your coffee every morning? Or afternoon? According to a recent study, 54% of Americans drink coffee every day (Live Science, Coffee 4 Dummies, Coffee Research, July 12, 2014). Coffee is a pick-me-up, energizer, and a great way to bring people together. Coffee also brought first time Farmer to Farmer (F2F) volunteer Eric Dane Mitchell to Haiti.
F2F sends American farmers and agribusiness professionals overseas with the goal of helping developing countries build local capacity, improve productivity and, access new markets, and build local capacity. . Eric has been serving as an F2F volunteer in Haiti for about a month and will be leaving later this week. He found out about the Farmer to Farmer program through his supervisors in Mexico during his Peace Corps Service there. Eric’s F2F program in Haiti is run by an American NGO called Haiti Coffee.com, Inc. and supported by a grant from VEGA’s F2F Special Program Support Project.
Eric’s main role has been training local Haitian farmers on improved coffee quality control practices and pricing support concepts. The aim is to ultimately provide more and better options to Haitian farmers for marketing their coffee. On a typical day, he drives to the mountains where the farms are located and holds presentations on improvement methodologies. Then, he takes tours of various farms, assesses the current environment, and makes suggestions as to how practices can be improved. Eric says that touring farms is the most interesting and enjoyable part, according to Eric, and the interactions with Haitian coffee growers are great, the “people are so warm and welcoming”, and the mountains are just “stunningly beautiful.”
The Farmer to Farmer Program (F2F), which began in 1985, sees U.S. based volunteers sharing their knowledge and expertise with counterparts in the developing world. VEGA manages the F2F “Special Program Support Project” which promotes agricultural development using cost effective, experienced specialists. We promote value chain capacity development, establish long term goodwill, and help raise the profile of international development.
This is a story of volunteerism, coffee, and most importantly, revitalization of Haiti’s historic coffee industry—-an industry capable of once again becoming a world leader again (. Haiti was the third largest coffee exporter in the world in 1949). Since then, Haitian coffee exports have fallen to the point where the International Coffee Organization doesn’t even include Haiti in their monthly tally of coffee exports (EXPORTS OF ALL FORMS OF COFFEE SEPTEMBER 2014). Today, Eric and his host organization Makouti Agro Enterprise are working hard to bring life back to the Haitian coffee industry.
Eric Dane Mitchell is a Virginia native. He received his Bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and served in the Peace Corps from 2010-2013 in Latin America. This was his first F2F project.
This program requires hard work, patience and learning new practices. Eric explained that the main challenge has been that farmers are essentially starting over and moving away from practices that have long been culturally embedded. This is a slow process, according to Eric, but one that will be worthwhile for coffee consumers and Haitian farmers. In closing, he said that he noticed Haitian farmers introduce themselves as “farmers, who do some coffee,” opposed to how some other coffee farmers in the region say firsthand, “I am a coffee farmer.” Each day, through this program, it can be said that Haitian farmers are getting that much closer to saying, “I am a coffee farmer.”
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