Meet Julia Gaudencia Jabier Flores

Exploradora Coffee is a journey of celebrating women in coffee. Julia Gaudencia Jabier Flores is a member of Union y Fe Cooperative, and part of the Sumac Warmi group in Cajamarca, Peru.

Have you been working in coffee all of your life? Please tell us about your farm.

Julia started working with coffee when she moved to La Coipa at 18 years old when she fell in love with her husband.

As a young woman, she used to produce potatoes, corn, peas, and beans with her parents. Her husband’s family was only dedicated to coffee so she had to learn to work in it. She learned little by little and now she now her farm is 2 hectares of coffee production, and she also has cocoa trees and trees used for harvesting wood.

The work on the farm is heavy and she starts her days very early. During harvest time, she must get up at 4 am to prepare food for her family and for the workers who support them on the farm during harvest time. Julia then goes to the farm to pick coffee or work on the washing and drying processes, which vary in time based on the weather. In the afternoon, she returns to her house to prepare dinner for her family and the workers.

How has being a member of the co-op and the women’s group influenced your life?

Julia joined the Union y Fe Cooperative in 2014. Being a member of Union y Fe and belonging to the Sumac Warmi group has allowed her to make some changes in her home, educate her son, improve her income, and help strengthen her community.

Her son is now studying at the university. Thanks to the income she has received from being a member of Union y Fe and Sumac Warmi, Julia has been able to support her son as he pursues higher education.

What is the greatest challenge you face in producing coffee?

One challenge is the cost of labor during the harvest. Julia pays a competitive labor wage while also providing workers with 3 meals a day. In peak harvest season, Julia employs 10–12 workers per day to assist with harvesting and farm maintenance. Another challenge is the unpredictability of weather and the effects that it has on yield and the post harvest process.

In your opinion, what unique role do women play in coffee production?

An important role as the biggest work is often done by the woman.

They get up early to cook, take care of their family and the staff who help them, then they go to the farm to harvest, then they process the coffee (pulp, ferment, wash and dry), they also cook lunch and dinner, and the work starts over the next day.

What is something that you enjoy doing?

Her hobby is knitting and crafts that she later sells. She also likes to cook guinea pigs and hens. In Junin, she used to prepare the spicy guinea pig which is like a cream that is prepared with special ‘aji’ and eaten with cookies, but now she enjoys cooking it at home.

Is there anything you want coffee buyers in the US to know about you and the work that the women of Sumac Warmi are doing?

Sumac Warmi is a group of women organized to produce quality coffee to improve the economy of their families. We would like you to continue buying our quality coffee and if possible improve the price.

We have been working a lot on the seedlings project in three villages. Our purpose is to re-plant or renew the farms to have better harvests, more quantity, and higher quality of coffee within two years. We are investing in varieties such as Bourbon, Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Catimor, and Geisha.

To learn more about Julia’s co-op, check out more of Union Y Fe & Sumac Warmi here

Check out exploradoracoffee.com to try coffee grown by Julia & the women of Sumac Warmi.