ILLESCAS PALMA FAMILY

My name is Clara Palma Martínez, I live here in Ixhuatlán del café, I am 65 years old and I have been a member of the association for 33 years, I am a founding member of the organization. Many years ago we came together as farmers so that our children could have better food, a better way of life, so all these years we have worked hard to achieve these objectives. We have little land and what we wanted was to preserve our small plot of land and that within that plot we would have many things to eat, so that our children would not suffer from hunger or malnutrition. And so we were achieving that dream, not only us, but all the people who in some way believed that it was possible to change that way of life. Over time, what we have procuring here is a biodiverse coffee plantation.

My name is Ernesto Illescas Marin, I am a native of this region, I was born in a smaller community called La Tranca. My parents were always farmers; my father was one of the people who operated the yunta for the land. I grew up accompanying him to plant corn, to uncover the plow, and also in other activities. I studied a little, I studied commerce, I had the opportunity. I also had the opportunity to work in other places, like in PEMEX. I was also a fisherman for a while, which is when I met Clara, but of course I never neglected the farm.

We believe that coffee growing has to change for the good of all, without agrochemicals. To take care of mother earth, mainly, and what is on it. With the coffee boom, many chemicals began to be used to produce more, and I always looked at that with rejection, because I was not used to that. We are linked to coffee and it circulates in our blood, in our minds and in what we do.

We enjoy the farm according to the seasons of the year. From the moment we leave the house to go to the coffee plantation we are already thinking about what we are going to eat. Meal time becomes a party and even more so if we go with the family, with the children and grandchildren. If it is harvest time, we eat quickly to take advantage of the harvest. When the farm is in bloom we enjoy being in the coffee plantation and we see how nature manifests itself in the coffee plantation, we are very happy because this means that we are going to have a good harvest. If it is the rainy season, we are going to harvest the fruits and herbs that are available for eating and medicinal purposes. And in hot weather we are also going to harvest the fruits of the season and in this way we contribute to our food sovereignty.

When we say that we produce our coffee in harmony with the earth, we are saying that, in harmony with people, in harmony with nature, in harmony with all the living beings that surround us and that are part of the habitat. So we do not produce coffee on a large scale, in large quantities, in order to produce and have more money, but rather we produce in order to preserve the life of the coffee plantation, the biodiversity, and to preserve our own life, also thinking of the generations to come.