Guatemala - Good Coffee Farms

Good coffee farms is a company in Guatemala that processes coffee in a sustainable fashion, without water, electricity or fuel. The project, which started in Guatemala, has now expanded into El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia.

Good coffee farms was founded in 2017 by Carlos Melen, a native of Guatemala. Under the slogan, “Coffee Changing the World,” the project strives to once and for all resolve the coffee industry’s structural issue where small-scale producers are trapped in poverty.

More than 200 small-scale coffee farmers belong to Good coffee farms today. And Carlos is the mastermind behind a “revolution,” with its impact on small-holders so strong that some people call him “the Che Guevara of Coffee.” The driving force behind this project is dry bicycle pulpling, an original method where farmers pedal stationary bicycles to remove outer husk layers from coffee cherries and process parchment that later is converted into green beans, adding value to their harvest themselves. This innovation is exactly what has helped farmers earn about triple their previous income.