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

prohibited on this farm).” Some farmers posted signs on plywood along the fenceline on
their farms. Danilo had the signs painted on the exterior concrete walls of his cocinona.
Corcasan exported coffee to Starbucks both seasons I lived in San Juan. With the
funds from the IDR project they were also able to retain a significant portion of their
harvest for roasting, packaging, and sale to the national market. This coffee was for sale
in the CIDEL, but I would make special orders to send to Fair Trade merchants in the
United States. Corcasan was the only San Juan co-op that could provide me with roasted,
ground coffee. Their two brands were Café Majaste and Café El Balcón.
El Majaste is one of three prominent mountain peaks that loom over San Juan del
Rio Coco. The other two are El Malacate and El Lechón. Corcasan chose the name “El
Majaste” because, as their general manager Luisa González explained in an interview
with me, “Nuestros productores viven y cultivan en el Majaste y por eso le pusimos el
nombre del cerro Majaste (Our farmers live and farm on the Majaste and for that we gave
it the name of the Majaste Mountain).” El Balcón is a community located on Cerro
Blanco, just outside of Samarkanda, which produces some of the highest-altitude coffee
in Nicaragua. (According to the international market, the higher the altitude, the better
and thus more valuable the coffee.)
The label on Café Majaste states: “Café Majaste is made with high quality coffee
beans that are selected in our modern cupping facility. The Majaste is the mountain that
represents a main source of fresh air and water for San Juan and Telpaneca. Tropical rain
forest, conifers and diverse flora and fauna characterize this mountain area.” The label for
Café El Balcón states that “Café El Balcón comes from the harmony between flora and
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