Keywords
speciality coffee, coffee workers, living conditions, El Salvador, Honduras
Abstract
Most coffee exports in Honduras and El Salvador now correspond to specialty coffees, suggesting that coffee producers have gained considerable experience producing specialty coffee, which positively impacts producers and the country’s economies. However, other economic and social challenges persist as coffee production involves not only coffee farmers but also workers. Moreover, coffee farmworkers outnumber producers, but their working and living conditions are not thoroughly comprehended. The purpose of this study was to examine specialty coffee workers' perceptions of their labor on the farm in Honduras and El Salvador. Specific objectives were to 1) assess workers' perceptions of production and labor activities in specialty coffee, and 2) describe perceived labor conditions on specialty coffee farms and compare them to working conditions on conventional farms. This study used qualitative methods. Using an instrumental, multi-site case study design, we employed focus groups for data collection. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify issues within and across cases to uncover the meaning of working on a specialty coffee farm. Six major themes emerged, ranging from the lack of understanding of specialty coffee production, the perception that wages are not higher in specialty coffee farms than in non-specialty coffee farms, and that working conditions are similar but provide more stability. This study offers a glimpse into the viewpoints of coffee farmworkers, focusing on their perceptions of their experiences and working environments within specialty coffee cultivation in Honduras and El Salvador. Thus, underscoring the need for comprehensive public and private initiatives dedicated to improving decent work conditions among coffee farmworkers aspects as are relevant to broader socioeconomic issues
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Rights Statements
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0
Recommended Citation
Morales, S.,
&
Carpio, C.
(2025).
Farmworkers' voices: what it means to work in a specialty coffee farm in Honduras and El Salvador.
Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 32(3), 425-446.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4148/2831-5960.1516
