Though I will make no claim of being a coffee expert, I wont even pretend to really like coffee, but it has been impossible in recent weeks not to appreciate the hard work that goes into getting it from the coffee plantation to the cup.
Gallon Jug's coffee harvest is in full swing and it seems that every free space in the estate is being used for drying coffee beans. As of last week over 75 tons of coffee had been picked.
Currently I am feeling quite lucky that no one has decided to throw a few tons of coffee on the school's basketball court to dry. I have finally been able to get a few kids stray from the soccer field to the basketball court during recess and I would hate for that to stop. Even the airplane hanger at the GJ landing strip was recently requisitioned.
All of the coffee in Gallon Jug is picked by hand. Workers start at around 7am and pick until 4pm most days. Styles seem to differ a bit, but typically the coffee 'cherries' are plucked off the bush and placed into either a wicker container or 5 gallon water drum with the top cut off that is slung over one shoulder with a strap. It is important to have both hands free for picking, as pay is by the pound. Pickers work a row of coffee bush by bush, continually dumping their small containers into large burlap sacks.
The burlap sacks are supposed to hold 100 pounds of coffee when filled. I've been told that the top individual pickers can fill three sacks in a day. Coffee picking is expected to last until January. As the coffee doesn't wait around to be picked, weekends are a time when whole families go out to pick and earn extra money. Most of the older students at the school spend at least part of the weekend picking coffee with their families.
After the coffee is picked and collected it is taken to the 'beneficio' in Sylvester village where the coffee beans are separated, washed, and the drying process begins. When the beans reach the optimal moisture level they are roasted, and then packed. Currently the final product is only available in Belize, but with the increases in production volume that could be changing soon.
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| www.gallonjug.com |
And the Critter of the Week goes to....
The pale-billed woodpecker. This woodpecker, of the Woody Woodpecker variety, is a common sight around the loft and stables. It wasn't until recently though that I learned that the pale-billed wood pecker is very sought after by birders. There are a couple of different varieties, all of which are large by woodpecker standards. I would estimate this one to have been about the size of a seagull.
Pale-billed woodpeckers can be identified from a distance by there signature double-tap - which may also makes them a bit gangsta.
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| Special thanks to Belikin for accompanying me on the photo shoot. |
