Meet Antonino and Cesar Flores, father and son. Not pictured is Cesar’s older brother Enoc, the first member of the Flores family that Cam met. Enoc moved from their family home in Honduras to Baltimore in the mid-2000s and began working in construction. In 2017, Enoc used the money he had earned to purchase a new farm for his family. Antonino has been farming coffee for 30-40 years; previously, they had been farming in low altitudes, but altitude is crucial to developing unique and complex coffee flavors. So, Enoc purchased his family a plot of land in the hills of Los Planes, Honduras, and Finca del Cerro (farm of the hill) was born. Since then, Enoc has served as a representative in the U.S. for their farm.

After meeting Enoc, Cam and Anour traveled to meet Cesar and Antonino in Honduras. Cesar picked them up from the airport and brought them back to his home, where his immediate and extended family welcomed them with a delicious home-cooked meal. Over the course of the next few days, Cesar showed Cam and Anour the old, lower altitude family farm and Finca del Cerro. Antonino told stories of the farming traditions he had practiced for decades that he was passing down to his children. He and Cesar talked about the changes that have happened in coffee farming since Fair Trade has been instituted and about the further changes that Direct Trade has brought, and they taught Cam and Anour all about their farming process.

Their process is based in upholding their town, their community, and their culture. Antonino explained that the farmers in their town used to grow what they ate and live a simple life; now, they need money to send their kids away to school in hopes of a more prosperous future. To help their community through these changes, the Flores’ employ local townspeople and ensure they get good wages for their work. But their support for the town goes beyond this: Cesar and Antonino use some of their profits to buy supplies for the town’s school. Cesar brought Cam and Anour to visit the school; they made a piñata and brought coloring books and pens. Seeing the kids’ excitement was a highlight of the visit and made Cam and Anour feel deeply connected to the people of Los Planes, their new friends, and their shared coffee product.

As they watched the students of Los Planes break open their piñata, Cam and Anour saw how the Cam’s Kettle process is not just a simple production chain. Direct Trade coffee creates tight-knit communities that span countries and ensures coffee is more than a beverage: it is a means to support farmers and their communities.

By supporting Cam’s Kettle and Direct Trade, you support Finca del Cerro--you support the Flores family, the townspeople they employ, and the students they give back to. Thank you!