As the humidity sensors need to function (read: be calibrated) before I can distribute them to interested coffee farmers, the beginning of the week I continued my quest for wet coffee samples for a proper calibration. As it’s very hot in Jaèn, the beans dry out quite quickly which makes it extra challenging. A kind ‘catador’ (or coffeetaster for those paying attention) of Sol y Café was willing to help me by bringing a few wet coffee samples he had at home to the cooperativa. Unfortunately, only one of those samples was more than 14%, but eventually I managed to calibrate one of the sensors with acceptable results.

Now I could finally start with what I was here for: introduce the humidity sensors to the coffee producers! In general there is alot of interest from the farmers, with many curious faces showing up once I start an interview. One of the main reasons for these interviews is to assess their willingness to pay for one of the working humidity sensors. Amusingly, whenever I ask them what they consider a fair price, many of them answer by asking me the price, which can sometimes go on for a long time 😉

Since the beginning of August, the internal sports competition within Sol y Café – alternating volleyball and football games – has started. Our glorious team is called ‘Cuando el café florezca’ with an extensive players list from the commercial department. Our first volleyball game against the ‘Warehouse team’ was fun and exciting but in the end we lost with one small point difference. Cuando el café florezca is ready for tasty revenge!

Team members

Afterwards I joined the others in Chirinos on wednesday to conduct more interviews with coffee farmers. Also, we visited playa hermosa (0.5 hours from Chirinos) to admire the work Alden and Simon had put into the hydro installation and further talk with Fidel and Don Sergio (their hosts at playa hermosa).

At the end of the week, we became sick – each of us sequentially – probably by something we ate (still a mystery what exactly). This meant a calm weekend of recovery, but luckily we were all healthy again by monday for another productive week.

To kick off this productive week, I called the farmers I had interviewed to check whether they would still be interested in a trial period for one of the sensors, in exchange for a guarantee. In general, most of the coffee producers have alot of interest in the sensor but they don’t easily make a commitment. Fortunately, our second volleyball game came in handy to blow off some steam. This time our team was more complete which lead to a sweet 3-0 victory.

After two weeks of interviewing farmers and determining their level of interest, I’m happy to say the first humidity sensor is distributed! Two funny brothers, ‘socios’ or members of Sol y Café, will be the first ones to try out one of the sensors during a trial period. I’m already very curious about their feedback 😉

The document explaining the details of the trial period for the coffee farmer

At the end of the week we hopped on a night bus for a 10h drive towards Tarapoto with James, a friendly local working for a coffee NGO. Although we knew that the spot is known to be very touristic, everybody enjoyed our two day trip filled with kayaking, sloths and a waterfall visit.

‘Laguna azul’ or blue lagoon near Tarapoto

LESSON OF THE WEEK n°3: The drama involved in a Peruvian sports game – whatever the level – is as entertaining as the game itself.

Humasol