When Mayra started Catracha Coffee Co. in 2010, she wanted to help coffee farmers in her hometown of Santa Elena, Honduras, access the specialty market by helping farmers improve the quality of their coffee and increase their production. In doing so, they could earn more for their hard work, and larger income would help improve their livelihood. But for Mayra and her husband Lowell, coffee is only part of the equation for making change in Santa Elena. They established Catracha Community, a 501c3 nonprofit to start investing in long term opportunities without taking resources from farmers. Funding comes from roasters, who pay an additional 25 cents per pound of green coffee.
We met with Jiny, Azarael, and their mother Gladys during our visit to Santa Elena in 2019. They are a part of Catracha Colectivo, and create various handmade crafts, including keychains, bags, and headbands.
Catracha Community funds initiatives to support women and youth in Santa Elena and folks in neighboring communities. One of the initiatives funds crafting workshops. Over time, regular crafters have created their own group, Catracha Colectivo, and they sell their crafts to locals and roasters abroad. Earlier this year when we were catching up with Mayra, she said that everyone in Santa Elena was pretty safe from COVID, but opportunities for work were slim. Mayra asked if we would be interested in making an order for some crafts, and without any hesitation, we said yes! We ordered two things: handmade keychains, which we’ve carried in the past, and embroidered tote bags.
Azarael (right) leading one of the keychain making classes in Adela’s community
Maria Adela (right) making a keychain with her daughter Fatima (left)
Jinny and Azarel, two crafters that we met during our 2019 trip to Santa Elena, taught a keychain making class to women in Maria Adela’s community. Some of the materials used in the keychains include coffee parchment, a protective layer around a coffee bean that is removed once it’s dried, and traditional cloth by Lenca people—the largest indigenous group remaining in Honduras. The cloth is handmade on a loom weaver, and is sourced in La Esperanza, a two hour drive away from Santa Elena. Jinny and Azarael said that they like using traditional cloth because it’s a way for them to reclaim their heritage and connect their old and new cultures together. The keychains we have on hand are made from women in Maria Adela’s community and members of Catracha Colectivo.
Saturnina Vasquez with her finished keychain
Teodolinda Gomez with her finished keychain
The tote bags are also embroidered by Catracha Colectivo. Crafters had creative freedom in creating their designs. There are bags that feature coffee blossoms, red, orange, and yellow coffee cherries, and others with coffee cherries and the Andytown snowy plover.
José Isabel Vásquez Pérez tracing patterns on the tote bags
Erika Lazo embroidered the snowy plover with a coffee cherry and blossom
Nolvia Lazo embroidered a coffee tree branch with cherries on her tote
These crafts have come just in time for holiday shopping, but we have a limited amount of both keychains and totes. You can purchase a tote by purchasing the Catracha Crafts Bundle, or you can purchase keychains and Maria Adela’s coffee separately!
The Catracha Crafts bundle includes an embroidered tote, a heart keychain, and a bag of Maria Adela’s coffee.
The heart keychains are handmade with traditional indigenous Lenca cloth and coffee parchment. They come in a variety of colors!
Each tote has a different design featuring the Andytown snowy plover with coffee cherries. Totes are only available for purchase in the Catracha Crafts Bundle.
Maria Adela’s coffee is silky smooth and is a great choice for slow mornings around the holidays
