12/13/10
Today I went with 4 of my host brothers (there are five, plus one girl) to harvest coffee. The harvest season is from the end of November until the end of February and there are miles of coffee fields in every direction, so a lot of families work the harvest to make money. Everyone thought it was hilarious that I was going to do this, especially when I went into town to buy the large basket you need. We left the house at 5:30 this morning (it was dark and freezing still) and walked for an hour straight down the mountain until we meet with the other workers. We were divided into teams and assigned locations to work. I definitely got some funny looks being the whitest and tallest guy around. Coffee harvest involves tying a large basket to the front of your waist and just ripping beans of off the trees. There are trees every three feet or so and most are loaded with bright red or yellow beans. Sounds easy, but the catch is the trees are on steep slopes with loose dirt and sticks which you have to maneuver around on while not spilling your giant basket. I stumbled twice and spilled beans, losing about twenty minutes worth of work. I also got “stung” by some kind of caterpillar with venomous spikes. That one caught me by surprise. Overall, the work is fairly easy, just standing there plucking beans, trying not to fall down the hill. The kicker is however much you harvest you have to put in a giant sack and carry up the mountain. I made a trip with about 50 pounds and felt like I was going to pass out, plus girls younger than me were passing me with twice the weight. Salvadorans officially kick my ass in all forms of physical labor. After lugging that sack I didn’t pick with as much vigor, knowing I had to carry whatever I harvested. We picked for about six hours, with my total coming to about 70 pounds. This was also hilarious, since a minimum of 100 pounds is required to not be ridiculed. The hardest part of the day was the 2-hour walk back up the mountain, which nearly finished me.
Giant basket: $2.00
Harness: $.75
Total day’s pay earned from 70 pounds of beans harvested: $2.75
Breaking even and retiring from coffee picking: Priceless.
Makes minimum wage look pretty good huh? The pay is one dollar for every 25 pounds harvested. A really long, good day for an experienced picker might earn $8. What a different world.