Atitlán, Guatemaya - Grupo de Amigos y Trabajo Chochajau

Organic Certified by Ceres

Chochajau is a compound word formed by two references in the Quiche language which is commonly spoken in this region of San Juan La Laguna, Atitilan. The name is a reference to the location that is dominated by steep mountains and cold blue water. As the story goes, coffee can be traced back to the 1920’s and the families Puac, Tuy, Ajche, Mantanic and Xum. These families lived in Lake Atitlan but would travel Santo Tomas La Union to pick coffee for about 6 months of the year. The travel was both dangerous and taxing. Hence these families brought seeds back and started to plant their own coffee and become farmers themselves.

Today, there are 62 farming families that work in the production of this coffee all strictly following organic standards. The Chochajau group was initially formed as a GAT (Group of Friends and Work or Grupo de Amistad y Trabajo, in Spanish) in 2000. They have been certified organic since 2002. Any time a farmer decides to produce coffee organically there are several conditions that need to be in place in the environment, genetic varieties, and the process to make sure the quality and volume can be the same year on year. One of the driving factors behind this Chochajau is the special fertilizer mix that is used. A mix of cherry pulp, ash and dry leaves is composted and becomes a nutrient rich fertilizer so that coffee can continue to produce year on year.