Honduras Relief is Required

This past year has been one for the ages. Most of us are happily looking ahead to 2021 with anticipation of a much better year. This hope and the desperation from which it is borne has to be deeply felt by those who suffered the ravaging effects of two hurricanes in Honduras this past November.

Hurricane Eta, a category 4 storm, hit Honduras in early November wreaking havoc and destruction in its wake. Severe flooding and landslides devastated the country which was already in dire straits from the economic effects of COVID.  If this wasn't enough, Hurricane Iota followed swiftly on Eta's heels and hit Honduras in mid-November. It is estimated that Iota is the worst storm to hit Central America in history. The damage estimate in Honduras is pegged at over 10 Billion and unlike the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in 1996, international aid is not pouring in. The international community is struggling under the weight of COVID relief efforts and efforts to aid Central America is slow in coming.

The region where Transcend buys its coffee from, Santa Barbara, was especially hard hit. The coffee growing regions were flooded and landslides wiped out many of the small coffee farms.

The coffee producers of this region are proud and hard working. One of my favourite photos that I have ever taken is of Bertilio Portillio which is featured in this blog post. He won the 2009 Honduras Cup of Excellence and toured me around his farm in 2010.

To do our part, Transcend is donating fifty cents from the sale of every bag of Honduran coffee this season. You can do your part in a small way by purchasing a bag of Duvis Moreno or Roberto Figureuroa (January). 

We will be directing our donation to the Paz family, who operate a coffee mill where our coffee is prepared. They will identify the needs of producers in the area and disperse the funds accordingly.

If you want to do more you make a donation directly to the relief efforts via this gofundme campaign.