Guatemala Irineo Ramirez

The Mataquescuintla group consists of mostly smallholder coffee producers, small scale fruit and vegetable farmers, and some shop owners - a community threatened and at constant risk due to a Canadian mining company nearby affecting their daily resources. The mining has affected their water, land, and health - as well as the political climate that often risks and threatens their lives. Getting coffee out was very difficult for this community and threatened their financial livelihood on top of the devastation they were already enduring by the presence of the mine.

Propeller is saddened to hear that these circumstances continue to proceed in coffee producing communities and we hope that their resistance to the temporary closure of the mine while the government considers the necessary consultation process remains active until it is resolved peacefully.