What Our Neighbors Grow
Coffee is only one crop in the Antigua valley. A walk through the surrounding hills reveals a whole patchwork.
Every plot tells you something about the person who farms it.
Summary
- Neighbors around the finca grow a mix of crops, including coffee, vegetables, fruit, corn, and beans.
- Small family plots coexist with larger farms.
- The variety reflects the region's soil, climate, and traditions.
Key takeaways
- Diversity is common in highland agriculture.
- Farming here is a patchwork of small decisions.
- Understanding neighbors helps us understand the place.
From the edge of our finca, the view is a patchwork. Some patches are the deep green of coffee. Others are lighter, with rows of vegetables. A few are bare, turned earth waiting for planting. Nearby are small plots where corn stands tall.
Highland crops
The Guatemalan highlands support a wide range of crops. In and around Antigua, you can find coffee, of course, but also vegetables like broccoli, peas, and beans, fruit trees such as avocado and citrus, and the staple corn that underlies much of the national diet.
Many of these are grown on small family plots, tended by hand. The farmers know their land intimately.
Corn and beans
Corn and beans are the foundation of many Guatemalan meals. Families often grow enough to feed themselves, and sell the surplus. The sight of a cornfield in the rainy season, tall and green, is one of the region's characteristic images.
Flowers and ornamentals
Some neighbors grow flowers, for markets and for local festivals. The color of a flower plot is striking against the green hills, and during holidays, demand for flowers rises.
Coffee neighbors
Other coffee farms sit nearby. Some are large, some are small. We share information about weather, pests, and prices. We compete a little, but we also cooperate. A bad year for one often hits all.
It was talking with neighboring coffee farmers that first showed us how common the question of old trees is. Many have stands that they do not know what to do with. We cover that conversation in How Farmers Decide a Coffee Tree Is Done.
Learning from the patchwork
Looking at the mosaic of crops reminds me that farming is a long series of choices. Each farmer decides what to plant, where, and how. They respond to the market, the weather, and their own history.
It also reminds me that the finca is a small part of a much bigger system. What we do affects others, and what they do affects us.
Common questions
What else grows near Antigua besides coffee?
Vegetables, fruit trees, corn, beans, and flowers are common in the surrounding highlands.
Do you work with neighboring farms?
We share information and, in some cases, work with neighbors on old trees and roots.
Keep reading
Every piece is one of one.
Browse the specimen archive and acquire the piece that speaks to you. Each is catalogued once and sold once.