Guipils - from the museum to the road

After seeing an amazing sceanery of lakes, lush green trees, and a gigantic volcano, I am feeling nervous, anxious, excited, and facing the unknown... What to expect with 12 managers from across the USA all together for one purpose!

After lunch our first day, some of the partners that arrived early spent the afternoon visiting the museum of textiles and art. We witnessed two great presentations on the culture of Guatemala. Beautiful guipils, bright colorful scarves and a history lesson on how they are woven.

Little did I know that on the drive up to Santiago Atitlan this morning, we would see lots of people wearing those same gorgeous guipils. In the other museum we learned about the Mayan religion and after learning about it I am really amazed by their culture and technology.

I can't wait to serve the kids and see the coffee farmers!
- Abe

We are here!

Wow! We are finally here. So far, eight members of the team have arrived in Guatemala. Through conversations, we all share the enthusiasm of being in Guatemala, and we are definitely looking forward to our experience for the rest of the week, including the rest of the partners later tonight!

Over lunch, some of us jotted down some quick notes to share with you what’s on our mind right now… just off the plane and preparing to experience a little bit of Guatemala on our very first day here:

“I cannot believe the trip is finally here. It was amazing to look out my window when flying in to see how beautiful Guatemala is. It is so great to meet so many people that are just as passionate about Starbucks as I am. I am so excited to experience so many life changing things this week” – Anne, Starbucks partner

“Guatemala is beautiful! To see a volcano from my plane window was something I never thought I would see. I cannot express how blessed I am to have this opportunity. I can’t wait for the days to come” – Hilary, Starbucks partner

Hola!

¡Buenas! I’m Brantley Browning from Starbucks Coffee Company and I will be heading up a group of partners (employees) to visit the highlands of Guatemala. While there, we will be joined by our good friends at Save the Children — who won a competitive grant from Starbucks back in 2005 to introduce bilingual, bicultural education to 22 communities.

Working together with the Guatemalan Ministry of Education, parents, and their children, much progress has been made! For instance, more than 9,000 children are benefiting from early childhood development and basic education programs and the cool thing about this effort is that the curriculum centers on the inclusion of traditional Mayan stories. Many Mayan children living in rural areas reach school and may not have much knowledge of Spanish, which can be a barrier to participation in schools that solely teach Spanish. This new curriculum incorporates Mayan languages while weaving in Spanish over time — which increases the value of education for children and their communities without eroding cultural values.

My fellow group of partners and I will be working at several of the schools we have been supporting as well as visiting some coffee farms to learn about what it takes to grow and process such great coffee. Keep checking in — we’ll post new entries as often as possible!

Hasta la proxima — Brantley

Video about the Guatemala Education Initiative

In 2005, Starbucks partnered with Save the Children to positively impact coffee growing communities in the highlands of Guatemala. Learn more.