Meet your Farmers

Growers First uses the Ten Seeds Technique (TST) developed by MAP International to help our communities identify and address their own needs. It is a vital part of our work of empowering our farming communities, and we recently reached out to the Alvarado family to see if they would be interested in taking part.

Zuri and his wife Loida jumped at the opportunity. Loida recently took part in an extensive, week-long training seminar, led by Dr. Ravi Jayakaran of MAP International, to learn how to facilitate and lead the Ten Seeds Technique. She prepared with Gabriela Osorio (a TST pro), practiced by interviewing a coffee farmer from a neighboring community, and received some real-world experience helping facilitate the technique in the nearby village of La Germania.

Loida and Zuri are excited to use this training to further empower their community and neighboring communities, and we're glad to have them on board. Empowering our coffee farmers to take ownership in transforming their communities is at the center of the Growers First model of transformation. The Alvarado's are just one of many families that have stepped up to the task, and we know there will be many more to come.

If you have the privilege of spending a day with Zuri, your cheeks will ache from laughing and smiling. He is an enthusiastic leader in both the community of San Jeronimo and his co-op.

Growers First has had the privilege of supporting his vision of a better life for his family and community. We have trained him and he has trained others to improve the quality of their coffee crops. We have financed his efforts through micro-credit loans. And then we have given his co-op the best price for their coffee by trading directly with them.

Zuri’s hard work is paying off. Through his servant leadership his community is beginning to thrive. Your choice matters.