Land
Reform |
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| Gilberto
Castillo Explains his Story |
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Through
the land redistribution project Coope El Dos has bought over 70 hectares
of property and distributed it to over 55 producers with parcelas
(small farms) of 1.4 hectares each.
Gilberto Castillo, an asociate of the cooperative for more than 10
years is now the owner of his own parcela thanks to the land reform
project of Coopledos. |
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What
did you do before you had your parcela?
I rented a
small piece of land of 3 hectares. The owner of the land had a total
of 100 hectares, and I was just one of his day-workers. He used
the majority of his land as pastureland for cattle.
What are the principal problems of renting land?
One does not have any security. If there is a problem the owner
can dismiss you with little notice and the producer can find himself
the next morning without any resources. What is more, it is not
a very viable activity. I had to pay people to help during the harvest
season and pay up to 30% of the total profit of the coffee as rent
for the land. |
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| What
changed for you? |
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| Thanks
to the purchase of the La Monge farm, the cooperative offered
me the possibility to be the owner of my own piece of land.
I have 4 manzanas in which I produce coffee, peppers and tomatoes.
I feel very proud to be able to produce for the well being of
my family. What is more, we have all contributed to reforesting
the La Monge farm, which before was primarily pastureland. Planting
tomatoes, chiles and other types of legumes and trees has changed
the appearance of the land greatly. |
Don Gilberto
Castillo in his parcela |
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Where
does you family income come from?
All of the family income comes from my work in the fields as my
wife looks after the house and the children. I have two children,
8 And 4 years old that attend public school. I also provide work
to one of my brothers that helps me and up to 10 other people during
the harvest season.
In
order to obtain your land what were the requirements of the co-op?
The most important points were to be a small producer with no land.
Of course one has to respect the environment and be dedicated to
producing coffee. We have the possibility of combining coffee with
other crops, especially food crops for family consumption, although
some of us do sell to the local market.
What
kind of a re-payment plan did the Co-op offer you?
We have a 3-year grace period. It is a credit for 5 years and then
a favorable interest rate afterwards that we manage directly with
the co-op. Without this project I would have never had the possibility
to have my own parcela. |
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| Between
3 and 4 years are needed before the first coffee harvest
is ready. During this time, Don Gilberto harvested tomatoes
and peppers amongst the coffee plants. |
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| What
are your plans?
I will wait a little for the first coffee beans and if it all goes
well I am thinking of asking for an increase of land so I can plant
a total of 5 manzanas.
The fact that
the co-op guarantees higher prices than other co-ops thanks to Fair
Trade, helps make this possible, even during times of crisis like
that that we are confronting right now.
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