North Star

COMSA is a philosophically led organization, one that is connected by people, how they farm, care for the environment, care for one another and a commitment to life-long education. Covid-19 left these residents of Marcala confined to their homes and isolated for months.

COMSA has a central mill where farmers bring their coffee to be processed and prepared for export. Due to Covid, the mill had to close for almost 2 months, and this was during the normally-busy harvest season. This put COMSA in a difficult position with coffee buyers and with banks. Equal Exchange is committed to COMSA and we worked with them once the mill reopened, to purchase our intended coffee on a delayed timeline.

In addition to our partnership with COMSA at large, we have long been inspired by the leadership and initiatives of the women’s group at COMSA. We asked them to share their reality and perspective during these circumstances.

Travel restrictions prevented many from working on their farms and limited their ability to buy food from the supermarket. Prior to Covid, the women’s group had created a thriving local organic market to sell produce in their community; this year they were unable to sell at the market, reducing their incomes and reducing the surrounding community’s ability to access healthy local food. As schools remain closed, women are playing the role of primary educator for the next generation, from within their homes.

Through these difficult times, we see their strength and resilience. Women are: 

• reviving ancestral homeopathic practices, using herbs and native plants to change their diets to strengthen their immune system.
• growing more food on their land for their families to be more food secure and less dependent on stores.
• participating in and educating others through a districtwide program of recycling and trash reduction called Together We Clean Marcala.

Photos: Women of COMSA - (top) Catalina Rodriguez, (left) Irma Garcia