Rio Olancho Coffee

By Matt

For over a year we have been working with a group of coffee farmers in el Carrizal with the goal of exporting coffee to Canada. The Carpinteros have been a big part of this project, and they are the ones recieving the coffee. We had the coffee cupped (quality tested) here with the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) and it turned out to be great coffee. This is not too surprising considering the beautiful, high-elevation, shade covered farms where it is produced. It has been a long road full of surprises and plenty of paperwork to get the coffee on its way, but today the boat finally left the port on its way to Canada. Praise the Lord!
I know that is what many of the group members are thinking too. Many of them are dedicated members of the Christian Reformed Church in El Carrizal. Claudio, the president of the group, made some big sacrifices to produce quality coffee this year including briging his family up to the mountain to help pick the beans. But it was worth it because his coffee turned out to test very high in the quality ratings. This is Claudio on his usual mode of transportation.




Here is a picture of most of the group in front of the church where we usually meet. They call themselves the "Asociation of Coffee Growers, Rio Olancho".




The coffee was screened in the village before heading off to the exporter.




Here are Raul and Fredy showing off the washed "green" coffee.



If you live in Canada this coffee should be available just as soon as it arrives and can get roasted and bagged, so get ready for some great coffee straight from the mountains of Olancho!

Arbor Day

By Katie

Schools around Honduras celebrated Arbor Day last Monday by having school assemblies in which they shared poems, songs and plays about trees and why we should protect our forests. Luz y Verdad took it one step further this year by collaborating with the Agriculture and Environment Program at Diaconia Nacional to plant forty trees in some unused space we have on the playground.

The fourth, fifth and sixth graders planted trees with the help of some of us teachers and the technical help of Matt and David from Diaconia. It was AMAZING how hard some of these kids worked. In the photo below, you can see Ruben shoveling his little heart out! I was proud of the way the kids took the work very seriously.
After we dug forty holes for the trees and hauled compost to fill them with, David gave us a lesson in how to plant the trees. We planted mahogany and cedar trees, with the idea that in 20-30 years the school could harvest a few of them as a fundraiser. The kids liked that idea quite a bit. Matt also led a devotional time about how we all are charged with caring for the environment and how this is an act of worship.

Each student "adopted" their own tree, marking it with their name and promising to care for it. When the dry season comes Matt and David are going to return to teach us about a simple irrigation system using a 3-liter pop bottle so the little trees can make it through the dry times and on to maturity. In the picture below you can see Scarlet helping Dariana to plant her tree.
A lot of good came out of this day! We're really hoping that all the little trees survive to help encourage the kids that planting trees and working together produces positive results. May God bless these little acts of worship!

Tasty Baked Chicken

By Katie

It's time to share a good and easy recipe that my lady friends in the community of Guacoca shared with me. It's baked chicken, but instead of pouring water over the chicken and covering it, pour orange juice and vinegar (maybe totalling a little more than you would have poured on if it were just water). 2 parts OJ to 1 part vinegar, but that's flexible. Salt and pepper to taste. The Guacoca ladies add in achote and other spices, but I don't. The vinegar and orange juice make the chicken just a little sweet and sour. I don't marinate it at all, and often don't even thaw the chicken first.

Here's a picture, in case you've never seen baked chicken before. ;)

Try it and let me know how you like it! The Guacoca ladies will love it if you do. Ever since they made this a few months ago and I asked for the recipe, they have loved to sit and chat with me about recipes and ask how my Honduran cooking is coming along.