Farm info

Juventino Sánchez Gómez’s farm has been in his family for more than 80 years. His father passed down the land to him and his brothers 15 years ago. Juventino began planting coffee on the 1.5 hectare property 12 years ago. He currently has no more available land to expand coffee plantings, so he prunes and replants the land he manages.

The farm is surrounded with dense pine forests and the climate, like much of Huehuetenango, is very humid throughout the year and has low temperatures due to the high elevation. Juventino owns a small hand depulper, which he modified with a small motor for processing coffee after harvest. He dries the coffee on the patio at his house, located in the main village of the Socolaj region. The region is predominately Catholic, honoring the patron Santa Barbara de Nicomedia, for whom the municipality is named. The main sources of income are coffee and corn cultivation.