Juan Serrano Gutierrez was born in 1955. On his farm Pintochuaycco (Quechua for a local strong reed variety used to reinforce walls in this landslide-prone area), Juan grows only Typica-varietal coffee on just 3.5-hectares. He integrates local Pacay trees into his farming to provide shade, nitrogen, and optimal moisture retention to the soil. Alongside his coffee, he also grows avocado, banana, cassava, corn, and other products he can use and sell locally.
After harvesting his coffee, Juan carries out fermentation in plastic barrels for 16 hours. He dries the coffee in a 24 square meter solar dryer for about 12 days, depending on the weather.
Located in the community of Sillapata in Cusco’s Santa Teresa district, his farm is a 3-hour drive to the district capital (Santa Teresa) to deliver his coffee, mainly via dirt roads.
Juan’s entire family (all Quechua speakers) comes from the high, cold reaches of the Andes in Cusco. Juan’s parents, like most people in the area, came to Santa Teresa to work on the large haciendas that at that time belonged to a small group of landowners called “hacendados.” Their entire dynamic as laborers changed in the 1970s when former President Velasco Alvarado stripped the landowners of their lands and gave them to the workers. Juan’s family was a beneficiary of this change.
Since then, his entire family (a big one, considering Juan has 7 children) has dedicated themselves to coffee cultivation. Juan’s mother (currently 100 years old) still lives with him on the farm.
