Monday - The Village Board and the coffee fields

We began this morning with a formal welcome ceremony.  

As we entered the building where it was held, the room had a beautiful sign with lots of balloons. 

The village had prepared welcome ribbons for us to wear which sat on our seats.

When Agros establishes a village, they help the people to elect a leadership board to run the village.   They are re-elected every two years. The current board came up and introduced themselves, told us about their family, and what their role is on the board.

Edwin, the President of the board of the village gave a special welcome.

After the ceremonies, our team took a hike to see some of the villagers' fields, where they grow vegetables like corn, squash, and beans, and of course the cash crop of coffee.

We got a chance to see the coffee plants that last year's NCC mission team helped to plant out in the fields (pictured above) - which are still alive and growing well after 1 year.

These coffee plants are much bigger after two years and coffee can begin to be harvested.  However the plants will yield much more coffee in years three and four, and the plants will be 5-6 feet tall!

Did you know that coffee beans are green when they are harvested off of the plant?

As we walked through the fields, rows of coffee plants were everywhere.  They grow them on flat land and hills, shade or sun.  They take such good care of these plants that they seem to be able to grow anywhere.  But it's the regular care of the crops that makes them grow so well.  Agros teaches them all they need to know to be successful in this endeavor to own and work the land.