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

Me querrían joder. Creían que por ser un pequeño productor me podían
intimidar o callar. Para nada. Me encachimbé y les saqué los recibos que tenía
guardado para comprobar que el café ganador realmente fue mio. Que clase de
vergüenza de esos ladrónes de tratar de quitarme el premio, (They wanted to
screw me. They thought that since I was a small farmer that they could intimidate
me or shut me up. No way, I got pissed off and showed them the receipts to prove
that the winning coffee was mine. What shamefulness that those thieves have to
try and take away my prize.)
Danilo considered this an affront and made sure that the entire community was
aware of the Corcasan board’s abuse of power.
¿Qué, por ser ricos creen que merecen todo? No me quiseron reconocer porque
soy pobre. No represento el imagen ideal de su co-operativa, no soy ningún hecho
verga para aguantar eso (What, because they’re rich they think that they deserve
everything? They didn’t want to acknowledge me because I’m poor. I don’t
represent the ideal image of their cooperative; I’m not some fool to put up with
that).
Danilo separated from Corcasan after that. He did finally get the recognition that he
deserved and he sold his coffee at almost eight times the international market value in
2004 82 .
Corcasan has a large fleet of técnicos (technicians, or extension agents) who
travel throughout the region on motorcycles. They provide technical assistance to
member-farmers. During my fieldwork Corcasan received a certificate from the
Rainforest Alliance to promote “ecologically sustainable coffee production.” 83 The only
notable change in Rainforest Alliance certification was the placement of spray-painted,
stenciled signs that state “Protegemos el medio ambiente (Let’s protect the
environment)” or “Se prohibe cazar animales en esta finca (Hunting animals is
82 This extremely high sale amount is due to an electronic auction where bidders compete
for highly rated coffee.
83 http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
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