i Patrick W. Staib Anthropology This dissertation is approved, and it ...

organizational strategies present more favorable outcomes for affluent farmers than for
their poorer and smaller counterparts. However, the Segovian case offers examples of a
broader diversity of individuals rising to prominence in this latest development phase.
Fissures, fragmentation, and conflict have been commonplace in this region for
centuries. It is of great significance that organic coffee farming offers farmers avenues to
manage their land profitably without having to contaminate or deplete resources. The fact
that farmers such as Danilo are entering the fore of the discourse on sustainable
development in Las Segovias is evidence that significant sociocultural shifts are taking
place. On a local level, Danilo’s and any small farmer’s successes are celebrated across
the community. In 2003 Danilo and Reinaldo supplied half of the total export for the
Procaoc cooperative. Danilo had to oversee and implement all of the legal and
documentary steps in order to execute the export. One problem that Danilo recalled from
that shipment was the low quality marks that Procaoc’s coffee received. In his words:
Reinaldo y yo pusimos café de primera calidad, pero los [otros productores] no
les importa la calidad. No les preocupa invertir el tiempo y la plata en asegurar
un mejor rendimiento expertable. Les gusta acostarse temprano y levantarse
tarde (Reinaldo and I submitted the best quality coffee, but the [other farmers]
don’t care about quality. They can’t be bothered to invest time or money to ensure
a better exportable yield. They like to go to bed early and wake up late).
Danilo’s complaint was that the entire export lot was graded poorly because of the
smaller farmers’ lack of quality control. He felt that he had sacrificed by aggregating his
harvest with other farmers. Danilo invests immense amounts of labor and time to
cultivate high-yielding plants. Even though he earned a greater percentage of the total
sale owing to the volume he submitted, there was a general deduction based on
imperfections in the sorting process. Danilo is able to sell to specialty markets because of
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