El Paraíso - An Extraordinary Example of How Articulation Can Promote Development

This past week I received the kind invitation of Swisscontact's Progresa to take part in the Specialty Coffee Market Forum organized as part of the activities of the Mesa del Cafe de El Paraíso's Regional  Specialty Coffee Competition. 

El Paraíso is one of the six coffee regions in Honduras, located in the south east, near Nicaragua. It has traditionally been one of the zones with more volume of coffee in Honduras, but until some years ago, it was mostly unknown in the specialty coffee market niche. For instance, the Dipilto Mountain Range that divides Honduras from Nicaragua, had seen several Nicaragua Cup of Excellence winners, yet, on this side of the mountain, it was until 2017 that the first Cup of Excellence winner emerged from the community of Las Delicias, Mr. Oscar Ramírez with a Parainema, a variety that has its origin in El Paraíso. 

What we are seeing now in El Paraíso started several years ago, and the event that took place this week was proof that they are moving in the right direction. From my point of view, the key to their success seems to be, a clear articulation of actors that are committed to achieving growth for their region. El Paraíso's Mesa del Café involves  producers, the Institute of Coffee, the producer associations, municipalities, universities, small business development centers, international donor programs, private service providers and government. 

The event took place over three days. The first day, in the city of Danli, the local coffee shop scene and baristas had an exhibition.  Locally roasted coffee was available and the university students that are part of the Coffee Business Administration Technical Program sold their coffee-based products.  The event had the purpose of raising awareness among the local community, on the importance of specialty coffee and to introduce specialty coffee to consumers. Our local market is also a market for specialty coffee... let's not forget about it. 

The second day of the event IHCAFE inaugurated the Regional Quality Control Laboratory, which will have an important role in clearly identifying the quality of the coffee that is being produced and exported from the region, while providing feedback to producers and field technicians. The hard work that goes on at the farm and mill is reflected in the quality of the cup. The Regional Quality Control Laboratory will be able to host importers and roasters that are looking to identify coffees in El Paraíso. 

The Specialty Coffee Market Forum included two panel discussions on the challenges and opportunities for El Paraíso in this market niche, and also a panel discussing the experiences of 3 exporting companies, one from Marcala (COMSA), one from Nicaragua ( Pro Exports Nic) and one from El Paraíso (CAFEPSA) 

Serge from SOCODEVI, a Canadian organization, invited the producers and exporters to know their own coffee and the real quality and value of their coffee, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with their importers and roasters- and the call is also to roasters and importers, to search to build longterm partnerships. 

Reiner from Pro Exports Nicaragua, emphasized the importance of an integral approach when working with Specialty, with a right pricing strategy and value through quality, logistics, and communication- all with the aim of build long term partnerships. 

From MarketAble, we shared about the importance of seeking differentiation beyond the pricing strategy, promoting communication with the market to better understand what is it exactly an importer or a roaster is seeking and identifying the value the importer and roaster wants to pass on to his own consumer, beyond the cup of coffee itself. We spoke about the immense difference it makes to build commercial partnerships with companies and persons that share the same values, ethics and vision. We suggested a way to strengthen the connection between producers and buyers is creating and building the distinct story of the El Paraiso region, as well as the story of the association of producers and at the heart of everything, each producer's personal story with coffee.

By the way, from a branding standpoint, I think El Paraíso is blessed with a golden name. Paradise. 

The panel highlighting the companies' experiences and perspectives was enlightening, highlighting their achievements as wells as lessons learned. 

Rodolfo from COMSA stressed the importance of organizing as producers, and he urged the audience to stop waiting for the market to do something to bring about change in the producers lives.  We must start doing things differently to achieve different results, which include better income for better life conditions.  Rubén shared that part of their success is linked to having strong values and principles, having open communication channels at all times, and also being good citizens by paying their taxes and contributing in this way to the growth of their communities. CAFEPSA, the representative of the El Paraíso region, emphasized the importance of being constant in their efforts, and the value of honoring their commitments even in the midst of tough situations like when the market sways either in favor or against them. 

Many weeks before the event, the Mesa del Cafe de El Paraiso ( El Paraiso Coffee Board), invited the producers in the region to submit their samples to discover the best coffees from the region.  Alfonso Merlo, Regional Director of IHCAFE El Paraíso said they expected to receive 200 samples, but received more than 400 samples.  A team of experienced  cuppers and Q Graders,from national and international companies like RAGA Coffee, Coffee Libre Korea, Coffee Libre Guatemala, among others,  under the leadership of Hector Vallejo, Quality Manager at IHCAFE El Paraíso cupped and cupped until the 400 samples were narrowed down to the best 30 and from there, selected the best 10.  

During the last phase of the cupping, Mr. Pil Hoon Seu of Coffee Libre along with two of his team members from Korea joined the evaluating panel. Mr. Pil Hoon Seu is regarded as one of the pioneers  of the specialty coffee movement in Korea, having been Korea's first Q grader and having started the movement of direct trade and  coffee with a face, the face of the producer. 

During the last day of the event, Mr. Seu addressed the producers and other participants, sharing part of his story and how some years ago, in a joint effort with Rony from Raga Coffee, he had set out to discover another region besides the better known region of Santa Barbara, where he could find an exceptional coffee that provided different characteristics and a difference in origin that would also make it interesting for him and his clients.  This led them to discover an exceptional Parainema coffee, by producer Oscar Ramírez, who later went on to win the Cup of Excellence, the first winner from El Paraíso with the Parainema variety. 

Mr. Seu invited the producers to pay close attention to the processing, especially fermentation and also he emphasized the importance of slow drying. 

He shared that he had cupped many samples, close to 500, but the winning lot from El Paraíso was simply the best, with surprising notes of fruits, ginger ale, floral and a prolonged and elegant after taste. 

The conclusion of the event was exciting, especially for the winners, but also provided motivation, new ideas and insights for the rest of the participants. 

The winning lot was by producer Ely Bustillo, with a washed Parainema that scored 91.58 

Second place went to woman producer-Reyna Garcia with a washed Catuaí that scored 89.25

Third place went to Dulman Mendoza, a washed Parainema that scored 88.92 

All of these coffees were bought by Coffee Libre and will be available in Korea.  Coffee Libre also bought other coffees that competed and other buyers from Europe, US, Taiwan and Japan also made offers for other of the top lots of the competition. 

I want to extend my sincere congratulations to the Mesa del Café de El Paraíso for an extraordinary event. It is evident that this is a result of the articulation and coordinated efforts of  many actors, that are working side by side with producers in the community, technical experts watching out for details such as soil, working with producers in their milling practices, cupping samples at the laboratory and also reinforcing issues of associativity and leadership. I was happy to see many women producers at the event and also many women working along the value chain as service providers. This articulation allowed actors to come to El Paraiso from other coffee regions, and also to bring the market to the region through an important buyer of specialty coffee from Korea, who has become now an ambassador for the promising region of El Paraíso, Honduras.

Remember this region:   El Paraíso
Remember this cultivar: Parainema
Remember this origin:    Honduras